Avatar: Life After The War
by kataang4ever14
Summary: Life goes on for the gang. Zuko helps rebuild the world, Sokka, Suki, and Toph are the same as always, and Aang and Katara's relationship grows lovingly. But life isnt perfect and there are rebels and other things to deal with. KATAANG *PERMANENT HIATUS*
1. Chapter 1

**This fan fiction story will focus generally on the lives of the gaang after the war, in other words, Aang and Katara's relationship. The story will also focus on the gaang helping to rebuild the world and deal with some problems. One of those problems will be the rebels... So, this isn't gonna be like one of those big action like stories, but there will still be some action and stuff in it. I am a major fan of the show an am trying to write a story of what could really happen if Mike and Bryan continued the series (though I'm gonna add some more kataang fluff!:P). That means I'm not adding any retarded crap about Jet still being alive or Azula magically breaking out and attacking everyone. I'm not sure if I'm even gonna have Zuko find his mother. I'm still debating that. It takes place immediately after the events of Sozin's Comet: Part 4. If you're a kataang fan, this is for you! Also, there's some might be some Sukka and Maiko, mostly kataang though. Possibly someone for Toph, too, but I don't want to spoil anything. Hope you enjoy. ;)**

**CHAPTER 1: A NEW DAY**

The sun began to rise in Ba Sing Se as everyone started to wake up. Aang woke up while smiling at the thought of the previous day. Only yesterday at sunset, he and Katara had shared a very passionate kiss together. That was when Katara was no longer confused and realized that she loved Aang and confessed her feelings for him through that kiss.

Aang couldn't be happier. The long, hundred-year war was finally over and he had the girl of his dreams at last.

Hearing the rest of the gaang getting up, prompted Aang to quit pondering on these thoughts to get ready for the day. So, he got out of bed, pulled on his monk robes, and washed up, before leaving his room and heading into the kitchen for breakfast.

As Aang walked into the kitchen, he saw that Sokka and Zuko were already up, eating breakfast. They were discussing the upcoming meetings that Zuko and Aang needed to attend. Sokka, of course, had a big plate of meat in front of him, which he quickly devoured.

"Yeah, so Aang, I was just talking with Sokka about the meeting we got to go to in three days. The council of five is gonna be there, as well as some representatives from the water tribes" Zuko said.

"Great" Aang said, while rolling his eyes and taking a seat. "Any idea who's representing the water tribes?"

"I think Chief Arnook is representing the Northern Water Tribe and Chief Hakoda is representing the South one" stated Zuko.

Zuko looked at Aang feeling concerned, for he didn't seem at all thrilled about the upcoming council meeting. Before he had time to respond to Aang, the doors opened again as Mai, Suki, Toph, and Katara walked in.

"Hey Aang" Katara said while walking over to sit beside Aang. She pecked him on the cheek as Aang blushed a bit.

"Hi Katara" Aang replied as he put his arm around Katara's waist and kissed her back. "You look beautiful today."

She smiled at him. He loved the way she smiled. He thought it made her look even more stunningly pretty. "Aww, you're so sweet" Katara said, blushing.

"Okay, whoa now! Just because I've given you guys permission to date doesn't mean I need to see you guys getting all mushy around me" Sokka said as his own girlfriend, Suki, came over to sit beside him.

"Sokka, I've told you already that you can't tell me what I do with my boyfriend" she said back, slightly annoyed.

Aang blushed a bit again when Katrara used the word _boyfriend_. He wasn't quite used to it yet. He was remembering the night before when Katara and he had kissed on the balcony.

_Katara and Aang stood there on the balcony in each other's arms after sharing their kiss. They were both blushing deeply and Aang was trying to speak._

_"Katara I–I love you. I love you so much, ever since the day I first woke up from being in the iceberg, and I will always love you."_

_"I love you too, Aang. I was so scared when you were fighting Ozai that if you didn't make it I would have never been able to tell you how I really feel about you" Katara said softly with a slight amount of fear in her voice._

_Aang and Katara shared another long kiss together before they rejoined the rest of gaang who were still complaining to Sokka about his painting; that is, everyone except Toph. She was smirking about something, and that was when Aang realized that she must've felt them out there and their emotions._

_"Well, well, well, it's about time Twinkle-Toes and Sugar Queen" Toph called out, still smirking._

_The gaang all turned to look at Aang and Katara standing there hand in hand._

_"What's this?" Suki asked Toph, perplexed._

_"Yeah, what is this" Sokka asked suspiciously as he turned to look at Aang and Katara and immediately noticed that they were holding hands._

_Aang and Katara both blushed. Aang sighed quietly before responding to Sokka and the rest of the gaang. "Sokka I…I love Katara."_

_"Sokka does seem quite shocked; I'll tell him" Katara thought to herself. "Sokka, its true… and I love Aang, too."_

_"Well it's not like we weren't expecting this" Zuko said as Suki, Mai, and Toph all nodded in agreement._

_"WHAT?" Sokka yelled out looking from the gaang to Aang and Katara._

_"Geez Sokka, just because you're too dumb to notice it doesn't mean the rest of us are. Aang and Katara have liked each other for ages. Haven't you?" Zuko asked looking towards them._

_"Yeah, I guess" Aang said, feeling a bit uncomfortable at this big commotion being made about Katara and him._

_Katara sensed what he was feeling, so she spoke up. "Look Sokka, just because Aang is my boyfriend now doesn't mean you need to make a big deal out of this."_

_Sokka was about to argue back, but Suki grabbed his arm. "She's right Sokka. Just leave them be" Suki told Sokka soothingly._

_At last Sokka calmed down. "Okay. Aang you have my permission to date my sister, just as long as I don't have to see any of the things you do and if you ever hurt her I swear I… I'll–"_

_Aang cut across him. "Alright Sokka, I get the point and relax because I wouldn't ever want to hurt Katara."_

_"What about when you burned her?" Sokka asked while attempting to stay calm, though not doing a very good job._

_"Aang didn't mean to Sokka. It was a complete accident and you know that" Katara replied, defending Aang, which did make him feel a lot better._

_"I think it's great that you two are finally together" Mai said unexpectedly._

"Hey, Aang? Aang, you still there?" Katara asked him tenderly.

He hadn't realized how much he had drifted into his thoughts from the previous day. "Huh…oh I…uhh must've drifted off or something" he replied as he came back to consciousness.

"Do you need anything? Are you tired?" Katara asked soothingly.

"What? No, I–I'm fine" Aang said back.

"Yeah… so, as I was saying, I don't want to see you to getting all mushy around me, okay?" Sokka stated clearly.

"Me and Aang can do whatever we want when we want" Katara shot back. "I don't tell you and Suki what not to do in your relationship."

"That's different. Were older than–"

"Can you guys just lay off each other for a while? I'm getting sick of listening to all of this" Toph complained as she bit into her apple.

"Well anyway" Zuko said as he got up from the table. "I need get going now. I got to talk with General Fong about a trade route being established between the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. I can't say I want to go, but he sent me a messenger hawk a couple days ago and requested we discuss this, and I'd rather just get it over with today. Would you like to come with me Mai?"

"I guess that sounds good. Though, I've always council meetings incredibly bleak and boring. You just better make this up to me later" Mai said as she gave an unexpected grin to Zuko and followed him out.

"Come on Suki, you said we could go shopping today and I want to see if I can find materials to make a new sword from" Sokka told his girlfriend.

"Ooh, that sounds like fun. I was also hoping to get a new dress for the dance the Earth king's having next week." Suki mumbled excitedly. Both, her and Sokka, got up, said goodbye to Aang, Toph, and Katara, and then hurriedly left.

"I better go see how many more people have signed up for the Earth bending tournament" muttered Toph. "I can't wait to beat them all. See you later Twinkle-Toes and Sugar Queen."

Aang and Katara were now alone together.

"So, what do you want to do?" Aang asked Katara.

"How about we go for a walk" Katara suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds great" Aang replied.

Aang took Katara's hand as he got up and walked outside with her. The day was bright and stunning.

"It's beautiful out here today" Katara said.

"I can think of something more beautiful" Anng told her, grinning.

"Oh, and what's that?" Katara murmured, knowing in her head what he would say.

"Well, she's nice, pretty, kind, and compassionate, and makes me the luckiest guy in the world" Aang replied.

"Okay, what's going on?" Katara asked pleasantly. "How'd I get such a sweet boyfriend?"

"What?" Aang replied, innocently smiling. "I can't say something nice about the most important thing in the world to me?"

"As long as that important thing you're referring to is me" Katara replied blushing.

"Of course it's you, Katara. I love you more than anything else in the world" Aang whispered in her ear as he kissed it.

She turned to look into his large gray eyes. She had always admired those stunning gray eyes. They were like to vast orbs of stormy gray clouds. Katara remembered how goofy and innocent Aang used to be when she had first met him and still saw that caring goofy look in his eyes, but no longer was Aang just some goofy kid. Now he was a fully realized avatar, master of all four elements, and the most powerful being in the universe. She leaned in to kiss Aang and he responded by kissing her, too. Her arms moved from cupping his cheeks to around his neck and Aang put his around her waist and pulled her closer to him as his body was pressed against her. He loved the feeling of his lips on hers and thought of how lucky he was to have a girl like her.

Their kiss became more passionate and their mouths opened wider allowing their tongues to entangle with one another, both of them fighting for dominance. This was new for Aang, but he loved it all the same and gripped Katara harder, while allowing her tongue to take over and enter his mouth.

Aang and Katara broke their kiss after a few minutes, realizing that they were still in a public area. A group of girls of about Aang's age, passed by Katara and him, all of them whispering and eying him. He noticed that his arms were still around her, but he not release them and instead kept them there so the group of girls knew he already had a girlfriend. They had apparently all been thinking about what the best way would be to try and talk to him and seeing his arms around Katara didn't please any of them. In fact, most of them looked quite annoyed that he was already with somebody. One of the girls pointed at him and whispered something as the others all giggled.

Katara of course did not enjoy the fact that other girls were gawking at Aang with aw. "Let's go" Katara said, taking Aang's hand walked on bring him with her, eager to get far away from the gawking girls.

One of the girls broke away from the rest and was brave enough to approach Aang and Katara. Katara wasn't happy.

"H-hi Avatar A-Aang" she stammered while doing her best to ignore the other girls who were giggling uncontrollably. "You can come hang out with us if you want (she motioned towards the other girls who immediately stopped staring). You don't need to hang out with her." Katara suddenly glared at the girl.

"But she's my girlfriend" Aang said sternly.

The girl blushed. "Oh…well then…um…by" she said quickly as she ran to join the other girls again. They all quickly ran off.

Aang knew Katara was still feeling a little jealous, so he assured her "Don't worry Katara, I would never leave you for any of them. I love you, and only you. You know that, right?"

"I guess I just didn't like the sight of those girls watching you because I was afraid you'd… you'd choose one of them over me, I mean you're the all powerful avatar and I'm just a-a southern peasant–"

Aang leaned in and kissed her again, passionately. When he pulled away he spoke up. "No Katara, you're the most amazing thing in the world to me. You make me so happy every single day I live. Without you I couldn't live, you mean far too much to me. I should be the one questioning whether I'm good enough for you."

Katara smiled, as a tear ran down her face. "I love you Aang" she said warmly.

Aang brushed away the tear on her face. "I love you too Katara, more than anything else in the world and I always want to be with you."

**Well, I hope you like the first chapter. This is my first fan fiction so I would really appreciate it if you guys reviewed it and told me what you think. I do plan on continuing this story for a long time, but this will mostly depend on if you guys like this or not. By reviewing you can tell me if there's anything you think I can improve or something I can do to make it better. Don't be afraid to mention things about the story that weren't good. I appreciate all reviews, good or bad, because they will help improve my story. I know there wasn't a large large amount of kataang fluff in this chapter, but it's only the first one, after all. I promise I'll have more in the upcoming chapters. Also, the next one will be longer. Thanks, again and please, please remember to review. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Bye. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Super super sorry for the long wait! I had my computer confiscated (loooooong story), but anyway, I just got it back yesterday so I rushed to get in this next chapter. Thank you for the reviews. I really a appreciated them. As a writer, it means a lot to me to hear what you guys think about my story. Now; as promised, chapter 2. Hope you enjoy. Review Please. ;)**

**CHAPTER 2: A FUTURE OF PEACE AND HARMONY**

When Aang and Katara got back to the house that the gaang was currently staying at, everyone else was already back. Suki was showing Mai the beautiful dress she got for the dance next week, Toph was boasting to Sokka about all the earth benders she had beaten that day in the tournament and how she was there number one champion, and Zuko was chatting with Mai about the new trade route that was currently being established.

"They're gonna start immediately by sending men to Omashu to repair the damage inflicted there by the war" Zuko told Mai.

"Hey guys. How was your day?" Suki asked, noticing that Aang and Katara had arrived.

"Oh, it was great!" Katara said ecstatically, as she and Aang sat down next to Sokka on the long couch. "We went to Iroh's teashop and were surprised by how many customers there were. It was literally packed to the brim. Your uncle's tea is really popular you know, Zuko."

"Yeah, he always did make great tea" agreed Toph. "And gave great advise" she added after a moment's thought.

"Yeah, he's been making and drinking tea ever since I can remember. I can't remember who taught him though" replied Zuko, while straining his thoughts to remember.

"Maybe he taught himself" suggested Mai.

"Maybe" her boyfriend replied.

"So, Katara," Suki said "what are you going to wear to the earth king's party next week? He's having a dance there, you know."

"Oh! I completely forgot about that! I'll have to go and get a new dress tomorrow. This is so exciting! We haven't danced since we were back in that cave Aang" Katara said enthusiastically as she gripped Aang's arm.

"That'll be fun" he replied brightly. "What's he having a party for?"

"It's for his pet bear, Bosco," Suki answered him, "this year's event is supposedly going to be really huge and he personally requested that the Avatar and his friends be there."

After eating dinner, most of the gaang decided to call it a night and get some sleep. Zuko and Aang had their council meeting to attend to in two days and it was probably better if they were well-rested in the days before the meeting.

Aang and Katara walked down the hall until they approached Katara's room. "Goodnight my love" Aang whispered to her as he gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

Katara blushed. "Goodnight, sleep tight" she replied softly.

Morning came all too soon for the gaang. One by one, they got up and headed into the kitchen for breakfast. As Aang entered, he was surprised by the fact that Sokka was the only one not eating.

"What's wrong Sokka? Why aren't you eating?" Aang asked with a look of concern in his eyes. After all, Aang had only rarely seen Sokka not being in the mood to eat.

"I don't think he's feeling very well today" Suki mumbled as she put her arm around Sokka and looked at him with compassion and distress in her eyes.

Sokka groaned. "I knew there was something funny in that piece of meat I ate last night."

"Oh that's too bad" Aang said considerately.

He took a seat next to Katara and gave her a good morning kiss on the cheek.

Sokka was feeling so sick that he didn't even say anything after watching Aang peck Katara on the cheek.

"I bet there's some medicine in town that might help him, I can go and check" Zuko offered.

"Oh, that's okay," replied Suki, "I think he just needs to rest. Come on Sokka, why don't we go back to your room and you can get a nice good amount of sleep."

"I am tired" Sokka yawned, accepting Suki's offer and allowing her to guide him back to his room.

The rest of the gaang spent the next two days relaxing and enjoying a cup of tea in Iroh's teashop here and there. Finally, the day of the council meeting came. Zuko and Aang both woke up early and then, after a quick breakfast, they headed over to the Earth King's royal palace in the center of the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, which is where the meeting would be taking place.

"Ah, Firelord Zuko and Avatar Aang. Welcome!" the Earth King said kindly as he stood up to greet them. The other men followed his suit.

The Earth King's seat was at the front of the long table. On his left was Chief Arnook of the Northern water Tribe and across from him was Sokka and Katara's father, Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe. Zuko's uncle, General Iroh sat next to Chief Hakoda and King Bumi of Omashu was next to him. Zuko and Aang both took seats next to General Fong, who was next to Chief Arnook.

"Well, now that we're all here, we may begin. General Fong, would you care to start this meeting of the four nations?" the Earth King questioned.

"Thank you your majesty" General Fong replied, bowing as he stood up. "Now, as we are all aware these past hundred years of fighting has greatly scarred the world. Rebuilding must begin immediately if we are to keep peace and order in this world. I have already arranged some trade routes with Firelord Zuko in order to help bring supplies to many needy Earth Kingdom villages scattered across the Earth Kingdom. As for here in Ba Sing Se, reconstruction has already taken place in order to repair the great wall as well as the damage caused by the Order of the White Lotus when they were freeing Ba Sing Se. General Iroh has been quite helpful with all of this. King Bumi, what is your report on the City of Omashu?

"Well, General Fong, after escaping my confinement, I managed to take back my city with minor to minimum damage. My people have begun to return, and work on reconstructing various buildings is beginning. We may require minor supplies for repairs, but other than that, all is well." Bumi finished.

"Excellent" General Fong states clearly. "I'm sure we can have supplies from Ba Sing Se and the Fire Nation be sent over in due time to ensure the rebuilding will occur. What is your status about the Fire Nation, Firelord Zuko?"

"I haven't been there yet, but intend on going there within the next week or two. It's going to be a little rough. I know there are still many fire benders who aren't willing to accept that the war is over and they will have to be dealt with carefully. After all, we wouldn't want to start another war. I must redeem the honor of the Fire Nation so that we may begin again and live in peace. As for my father and sister, they are in jail for the time being. Ozai can't firebend anymore, but Azula still can, so the decision of what to do with her is going to take much thought."

"Chief Arnook and Chief Hakoda, what is the current status of the Water Tribes?" asked General Fong.

"Well sir, as you know, nearly all of the waterbenders of the Southern Water Tribe were taken away by the Fire Nation long ago" Chief Hakoda said as he continued. "However, Master Pakku, along with some other waterbenders from the Northern Water Tribe, have agreed to come and live at the Southern Water Tribe. They will help us return the Southern Water Tribe to its former glory. As for the repopulation of the waterbenders of the Southern Water Tribe, we'll just have to let Mother Nature do her work."

"The Northern Water Tribe is going along fine. Most of the damage inflicted their by the Fire Nation many months ago has been repaired and no outside help seems necessary at the moment" Chief Arnook added.

General Fong continued on, "Thank you, Chief Hakoda and Chief Arnook. I must also press on two more important matters. The first of which is the Dai Li. I see that they are all still roaming free and it is my understanding that they must all be captured and imprisoned for life after what they have done.

"The second matter I need to press on is the repopulation of the airbenders. Avatar Aang, what are your views on this matter?"

Up until now, Aang had remained quiet. He knew that the topic of the repopulation of the airbenders was going to come up at one point or another. He sighed before speaking.

"I'm not completely sure. There are still many possibilities about this. Like, when I defeated Ozai I used energybending to take his bending away. It was an ancient technique that was used before the era of the avatar, in which people would bend the energy within one another. If I can take away bending then maybe I can also give people bending. Either way, I would still rather not resort to this method as it is incredibly dangerous and _your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be corrupted and destroyed on the spot_" Aang said, reciting the line that the lion turtle had told him just a few weeks before.

"Yes, everyone was amazed at how you had taken away his ability to bend, but everyone also knows that there is always another way to bring back the airbenders" General Fong said slyly.

"I'm quite sure that I know where you're going with this" Aang replied, not to eager to press on this subject as he had a hunch of what this was leading to.

"I'm glad you're taking onto this matter quite quickly. Thus, it is my understanding that you see it as your duty to have many airbending children with a number of nonbending women, in order to ensure the best survival of the airbending race" General Fong said clearly without any hesitation.

"Well, General Fong, I'd like to ensure to you that that won't be happening. The airbenders will survive and continue, even if it does happen slowly. I am only going to be with one woman and the decision of that won't be up to you or anyone else, except for me" Aang said plainly.

General Fong responded in a calm, yet demanding sort of tone. "My apologies Avatar, but as this is a serious matter that should not be taken lightly, the choice may not be up to you."

Aang, who's temper was starting to rise, was about to respond, but saw that there was no need for him to as Iroh had spoken up for him.

"You may want to watch yourself General Fong. This is Avatar Aang you're speaking to and as far as I'm concerned, his word is law, so what he says goes."

"Very well," General Fong replied, accepting his defeat, "but please don't forget this proposal Avatar Aang, after all, if there aren't any new airbenders being produced then when the avatar cycle comes back to the airbenders again, the avatar may cease to exist."

The meeting finally ended after a couple of hours and Aang and Zuko made their way back to their current house of residency in Ba Sing Se. Aang was eager to see Katara again. He hadn't seen her since morning and he was looking forward to spending the rest of the day with her. He was saddened therefore when he got back to the house and discovered that she wasn't there. It turns out she had went out shopping with Suki. Mai, on the other handed was playing a game of Pai Sho with Sokka and was losing badly. When Zuko and Aang walked in she stopped playing at once after finding the game dreadfully boring and walked over to chat with Zuko. Sokka then went outside to play with his new boomerang and Toph was nowhere to be found, but Aang assumed that she was once again playing in the earthbending tournaments in town.

Aang, upon having nobody to talk to, eventually decided to go outside and see Appa because it had been a while since he bonded with him. Upon going out the back door, Aang found Appa relaxing under a large fruit tree. Momo was sitting on a branch above him eating the fruit and passing some down to Appa who caught them in his mouth. Aang smiled. He walked over to the tree and airbended the tree so a large pile of fruits landed beside Appa.

"How have you been buddy?" Aang asked patting Appa the head.

Appa groaned the way he usually did when replying to something that Aang said and Aang, of course, apparently understood Appa and replied "good, I've missed you buddy."

What do you think about this dress Suki? Do you think aang will like it?" Katara asked anxiously as she held up a beautiful blue dress in front of her.

The dress was mostly royal blue and made of a very fine fabric material. It came down all the way to the floor and the above part was much like that of the fire nation outfit she had, except for the fact that the curve in her breasts would be slightly visible upon wearing the dress and it would be tied behind her rather than on one of her shoulders. It went extremely well with her necklace and matched her perfect blue eyes.

"Absolutely! He'll literally be drooling when he sees you in this" she responded with certainty.

"Thanks" Katara replied happily as she checked herself out in the mirror with the dress help up against her. "You know, you're right. I think he will like this one. I'll get it."

So, Katara and Suki paid for the clothing that they got and then headed back towards the house while excitedly discussing the upcoming party being thrown by the Earth King.

"I hope the meeting went okay. Aang didn't look to happy about it" Katara said, a little bit worried. She never did like it when Aang wasn't happy. It always made her feel so sick on the inside.

"Maybe he was just a little nervous, I mean after all he's only been a fully realized avatar for a few weeks" Suki answered cheerfully, obviously implying that there was nothing at all to worry about right now.

"I suppose so" Katara murmured confidently, suddenly becoming quite cheerful again, thanks to Suki's optimism.

When they finally made it back to the house Suki went to sit with Sokka who was eating some meat and looked exhausted for some apparent reason. "Perhaps he was out training all day?" Suki thought to herself. Then, another, more probable, thought passed through her head as she held back a giggle. "Perhaps he tired himself out from eating so much meat? I don't know how he can possibly keep it all down, no wonder he got so sick before!"

Meanwhile, Katara went searching for Aang. She found that he wasn't in his room or out by Appa. She was just about to give up when she spotted him under a nearby white rose tree. As Katara made her way over to him, she realized that he was meditating. She didn't want to disturb him, but she also really wanted to see him and hear him speak so she knew that he was still there for her. Before she could decide on what to do, Aang turned around to face her smiling happily. He obviously knew she was there the entire time thanks to his seismic sense abilities that he had learned from Toph.

"I missed you" he said simply.

"So did I" she replied.

And before either of them knew it, they were both entwined around each other as their lips met for a long and passionate kiss. Aang pushed his tongue towards her mouth, begging for entry. She opened her mouth wider as Aang's tongue entered her mouth. He wanted to taste her. His hands moved around her back as he broke their kiss only to place kisses along her neck. He moved up to her earlobe and began sucking on it slightly. Katara suddenly moaned in pleasure as Aang continued his light sucking before moving back down to claim her lips.

Neither one of them knew how long they were kissing for. Aang felt as though time itself had come to a stop when he kissed her. She was the most amazing thing in the world. He looked into her beautiful blue eyes as she looked into his sweet gray ones. They both leaned in for another kiss. It was somewhat forceful, but very gentle and passionate at the same time.

This time, Katara took charge as her tongue slid into Aang's mouth and fought for dominance with his. Her hands were wrapped around his waist, gripping onto him tightly as his body was pressed against hers. One of Aang's hands was put around Katara's neck, and the other one was placed in her sweet-smelling, chocolate brown hair. He could smell her scent and craved for it even more.

"Wait!" Aang said quickly, breaking the kiss at once, slightly hurting Katara. "Somebody's coming, quick!"

Aang got into an earthbending stance and then bended a large hole beneath them. He grabbed Katara's arm and jumped into the hole. He earthbended the top closed quickly, before airbending them softly to the ground. A moments silence and then Aang and Katara heard footsteps above them as familiar voices drifted down into the hole they were hiding in.

"It's beautiful here Sokka and so romantic" exclaimed Suki.

"I knew you'd like it" Sokka replied grinning.

"Let's get out of here" Aang whispered to Katara.

She didn't need telling twice. Aang silently earthbended a tunnel that would lead them away from Sokka and Suki, but what Sokka said next kept Katara rooted to the spot in shock.

"Suki? Don't tell Katara, I only just got Dad's letter, but Gran-Gran passed away."

**Well, there you have it, chapter 2! I hope you liked it. After putting in the boring council meeting, I decided that there needed to be some kataang fluff in the chapter. After all, I hate to go a chapter without any. I also should thank JasmineDragon22 for his/her suggestion which I greatly appreciate. And he/she is right that there will need to be a larger plot behind this story if it is to stay interesting. So, I assure you viewers that in due time a large plot will emerge in the story. Remember to review and I'll get started immediately on the next chapter. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone. I decided to post this chapter early because of the long wait for the last chapter. I'm sorry that this chapter isn't a long as the last one. I took away a part at the end of this one to add to the beginning of the fourth chapter because I don't think it went well with this one, but rest assured when I tell you that the chapters will slowly get longer. As I said before and will probably continue to say, thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them and keep it up! ;) **

**CHAPTER 3: MOURNING**

Katara simply froze in place after hearing what Sokka said. Her eyes were wide open in shock and sadness. She was just speechless. Her eyes filled with tears as she fell to her knees.

Aang immediately ran over to her. "Katara…I-I'm so sorry" Aang said, attempting to comfort her.

Tears were running down Katara's face as Aang put his arms around her and allowed her to cry on his shoulder.

"I c-cant b-b-believe it," she cried, "I n-never g-got t-to see her again s-since we l-left! I d-didn't expect this. F-first m-my m-m-mom and n-now Gran-Gran!" She continued to cry as Aang held her tight.

"I know, it's unfair tha–" Aang was cutoff as Sokka spoke above.

"Hey, what's that noise? Who's down there?" Sokka yelled as he turned his head from side to side in an attempt to spot whoever it was that had made the noise.

Aang hesitated for a second before opening the hole as Sokka poked his head in. When he saw Katara there crying and Aang trying to comfort her he thought it all made sense to him. His attitude suddenly became very fierce and angry.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?" Sokka yelled at the top of his lungs, his facing turning red. He jumped down into the hole and pulled Aang away from Katara and pushed him against the wall, quite roughly. "I warned you! Avatar or not, I told you specifically that if you ever hurt her in any way I'd break every bone in your body!"

"Sokka stop! STOP SOKKA!" Katara spluttered, tears still streaming down her face as she tried to stand up. "Sokka, let go of Aang! He hasn't hurt me!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DIDN'T HURT YOU? LOOK AT YOURSELF!" Sokka shouted, still not relinquishing his hold on Aang, who didn't make any attempt to push Sokka off of him. "Tears and all, and he's sitting there trying to apologizing for whatever he did."

"Sokka, it's what you just told me!" Suki shouted from above, understanding immediately what was going on.

That's when it hit Sokka and the realization came to him. He let go of Aang at once and walked over to Katara. "Oh, Katara I…I didn't want you to have to find out like this. That's why I didn't want to tell you at first, I–"

Katara cut across Sokka. "She my grandmother, too, you know!" Katara said angrily trying to keep back the tears that were still falling from her eyes.

"I know, don't cry Katara. This is exactly why I didn't want you to find out this way!" Sokka tried to explain.

He knelt down beside Katara and gave her a brotherly hug, or at least tried to. She broke away after only a few seconds and told Sokka angrily to apologize to Aang for wrongly accusing him of hurting her. "How could you possibly blame Aang, Sokka?" Katara asked in frustration. "He would never hurt me!"

Reluctantly, yet also truly remorsefully, Sokka apologized to Aang, who forgave him at once, but still felt kind of awkward after this whole situation.

"Hang on a second," Sokka started as he began to get a little suspicious, "What were you guys doing right below me and Suki? You weren't trying to spy on us, were you? Or no, wait! You weren't doing what I think you–"

"Uhgg, Sokka! Can you just lay off us for one second?" pleaded Katara. "I'm going to make this quite clear for you! It-is-none-of-your-business-what-I-do-with-Aang." She stated loudly, making sure to put much emphasis on the statement and saying each syllable.

And without another glance at Sokka, Suki, or even Aang, Katara climbed out of the hole and walked away, but Aang could almost swear he heard her succumb to tears again before she was out of range. He really wanted to go with her, but felt that after what had just happened and after what she had just learned, she needed some time alone to recover from this.

After another awkward moment together, Aang said goodbye to Sokka and Suki and airbended himself out of the hole as he made his way back to the house, not wanting to intrude on the rest of Sokka's and Suki's evening together.

Later, at dinner, Aang was quite concerned when he instantly noticed that Katara wasn't there. He desperately wanted to see her, but he still wasn't sure if he had given her enough time alone. He decided that if he still didn't see her by the end of tomorrow, then he would go and talk to her. So, he sighed and continued at his dinner while not feeling very hungry, because all he could think about was Katara.

Most of the gaang had a late start the next day. Aang, as usual, was up early and had just finished feeding Appa and Momo when Zuko came up to him.

"We need to talk" Zuko said firmly.

"About?"

"Two things really, first thing's that I've noticed Katara wasn't at dinner yesterday and I know she's pretty upset about something. I could hear her crying a lot last night." Zuko said.

"Yeah, she's really upset. She just found out the other day that her grandmother died" Aang replied, sighing sadly.

"Well, have you talked to her at all?" Zuko asked critically.

"Well…," Aang started as he hesitated and started to feel guilty, "not really, I kind of figured that she'd want some time alone after this ordeal, so I've given her some space" Aang admitted.

Zuko shook his head in disbelief and even gave a small chuckle.

"Oh Aang, you have a lot to learn about being a boyfriend," he said, "like not staying away from your girl when she's going through a hard time. You need to be there for her and help her get through these emotional struggles."

"I guess I'll talk to her tonight if she still doesn't come out of her room by then" Aang finally said. "Do you want to practice some firebending?" Aang added.

"Oh I uuh can't" Zuko said sadly. "This was actually the second thing I wanted to tell you. You see, tomorrow, Mai and I need to go back to the Fire Nation. There were some rebellions going on and they need me to help them settle the disputes."

"Oh, alright then. Do you guys have any idea how long you're going to be there for?" Aang asked hopefully.

"Probably a while, I mean it's not like I can still travel easily now that I've got a whole nation to run, but maybe at some point you guys can come and visit. Then it could be just like old times" Zuko told Aang encouragingly.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," Aang replied, "I think Katara and Sokka wanted to go back and visit home and Toph might want to see her parents, but after that we could all stop by at the Royal Palace for a few weeks, like a vacation, kind of.

By the time Zuko and Aang were done talking and had headed back inside, everyone else was already up; that is, everyone but Katara, who was no doubt still crying in her room.

Aang spent the rest of the day practicing firebending alone. He still, of course, wasn't a firebending master, so it was technically essential that he eventually master it. He was outside all day, and when he finally came back (long after dinner) everyone was in their proper rooms.

"Katara, can I come in?" Aang asked softly and compassionately when he made his way over to her door.

No reply.

"Please Katara, I know you're still really sad about this and I can't stand to see you so miserable. I really want to talk to you."

Still no reply, so, after a moment's hesitation, Aang slowly pushed open the door and there was Katara curled up on her bed. She was no longer crying, but her eyes were red and puffy. She gazed up into Aang's everlasting gray eyes as he looked into her stunning blue ones. After lingering for a moment, Katara's eyes turned away and they, yet again, began to get watery. Aang went over to the bed and pulled Katara towards him as he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly, before speaking up.

"I know this is really hard for you Katara and its okay to feel sad about it. That just shows that you're still human and are able to care and love…and I love you Katara, more than anything, and so does your grandmother. Wherever she is right now, she's proud of you and loves you for who you are and all of the amazing things you've done…she's with the spirits now."

"Please don't leave me Aang, I can't bear to be alone any longer" she said quietly with teary eyes.

"I won't ever leave you Katara. I'll stay right here with you for the rest of my life if you want" he said as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss.

Katara readjusted herself so that she was lying next to Aang and she put her arms around him and kissed him back. It was quite a wet kiss really, for tears still fell from Katara's eyes as they kissed, but it was a kiss like no other, filled with much compassion and love as both of their entwined figures gripped the other one tighter.

At long last, when they were both gasping for breath, they broke apart and just lied there on the bed not releasing their hold on one another.

"I might be an airbender Katara, but you take all of the breath out of me" Aang told her warmly as he stroked her arm soothingly.

At last Katara let out a small giggle; it was the first time that Aang had seen her smile since she found out about Gran–Gran's death.

"That's what I've been waiting for" Aang told her, smiling happily as he turned to look at her beautiful face. "You know, you are really pretty Katara."

Despite the fact that her eyes were red and puffy, Aang had never seen a prettier site. Katara blushed and was about to kiss Aang again when there was a loud knock on the door as Sokka's voice rang out. "Come on Katara! You can't stay in your room forever, open up!"

"Why does he always have to ruin the moment?" Aang thought angrily under his breath.

The door suddenly burst open as Sokka stood their jaw hanging at the site of Aang and Katara lying next to each other in the same bed. "What do you think you're doing in bed with HIM?" Sokka blurted out, forgetting the original reason for which he had barged into Katara's room.

"Well…" Katara started playfully while keeping her tone innocent. "He's my boyfriend."

Aang blushed again like he always did when Katara called him her boyfriend.

"That doesn't mean you need to be this close to each other, and you better not have done you-know-what, Katara" Sokka scolded.

"Oh please, Sokka," Katara retorted, choosing not answer the whole question and dropping her funny innocent tone and becoming quite annoyed, "Like I don't hear what you and Suki do together. I've passed by her room and, unless I'm hearing wrong, there were two people in their, not one" she said with a smirk.

Sokka turned red. "Yeah, well I uhh…"

"Now could you please give us some privacy already, you're like a chattering hog monkey" Katara complained.

"Fine, but I warn you Aang. If you take advantage of her, I won't hold back" Sokka told him in a demanding sort of way. "And from now on," Sokka paused for a second as he contemplated on how to phrase the rest of his sentence, "from now on, I'm keeping my eyes on you guys."

"Well then I guess you're going to need to keep your eyes on this" Katara said while sneering at Sokka as she did the one thing that she knew would annoy him the most.

She took Aangs hands in hers and leaned in to kiss him. He kissed her back with a strong passion burning inside of him for her. Katara felt the exact same way. She allowed Aang's tongue to enter her mouth as it entwined with her own.

"THAT'S IT!" Sokka yelled as Aang and Katara broke apart upon realization that Sokka was still there watching him. Without another word he stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut.

"Just don't listen to him" Katara told Aang soothingly as they both lied back down on the bed.

"I care about you more than anything else in the world. You know that right, Katara?" Aang asked her anxiously.

"Yes Aang. I love you more than ten worlds put together" Katara assured him as she cupped his hand in both of her own.

"Good, because I'm never going to stop loving you, even at the end of the universe."

For a while they both just lied there next to each other smiling happily.

At one point Aang asked her "Do you want me to go?"

For a moment she didn't answer him; the next moment she got closer to him and snuggled herself around Aang before whispering back "No."

Aang put his arms around her and together, they slowly and drifted off into a long and peaceful sleep.

Katara awoke quite comfortably the next morning. She wasn't completely awake, but instead kept her eyes closed and nestled herself closer to Aang, so that her body was pressed against his and she could feel the gentle beating of his heart against his growing abs as he began to wake up. He too was quite comfortable where he was, but he knew that they ought to not sleep late or they would miss seeing Zuko and Mai leaving. So, Aang sighed as he thought of what the best way to wake his sleeping beauty would be.

Katara just lay there peacefully, cuddled against Aang when she suddenly felt his lips kissing her neck. She felt Goosebumps as his lips touched her sensitive area. He continued to kiss her as he made his way up her jaw line and finally onto her lips. When Aang broke the kiss, he found a pleased looking face grinning and blushing at him. He blushed, too.

"That was the best wake up I've ever had" Katara said with pleasure in her voice.

"I can do that every morning if you'd like" Aang replied, blushing again.

Before Katara could respond there was a knock on the door.

"Hey lovebirds, I don't mean to ruin your moment or anything, but Zuko's leaving in like ten minutes, so I suggest you get up and say your farewells."

Reluctantly, Aang and Katara both got out of the warm comfortable bed and Katara went into the bathroom to wash up as Aang left her room to go to his room to get ready for the day.

Aang and Katara headed outside without eating breakfast after a few minutes, seeing as Zuko was out there getting ready to leave.

"Until next time" Sokka said while nodding as he shook Zuko's hand.

"Until next time" Zuko repeated, nodding back.

"We'll miss you" Katara said sadly as she gave Zuko a fleeting hug. "And you too, Mai" Katara added quickly as she gave her a hug, also.

"Us too" Zuko said.

"We'll visit you guys soon" Aang told Zuko and Mai, shaking both of their hands.

"We look forward to it" Mai said plainly.

"See yah Zuko, and good luck Mai!" Toph said as she gave Zuko a punch on the arm.

"Ow!" Zuko said, rubbing his arm, though understanding that Toph was showing affection. "So, if that's everything, then I guess we better head out now. After all, it's going to be a long trip back to the Fire Nation" he said.

"Any trouble, then just send a hawk our way" Aang told Zuko confidently.

"Will do," Zuko replied, "and take care guys." With that, Zuko and Mai walked down to the carriage, waved goodbye, and were soon too far to be seen.

"So what is you wanted to tell me?" Mai asked Zuko, ten minutes into the ride.

"Well, I didn't want to tell the others yet, not even my uncle! I just don't want to get my hopes up so soon, because I mean it's been…been years…and I'm really close to a lead now on her." Zuko said while drifting into his own thoughts.

"Who?" Mai asked curiously.

Zuko didn't answer as he was only partially listening to her. "I really hope I can find her. I miss her so much.

"Who are you talking about Zuko?" Mai asked as she took Zuko's hand in hers and brought him back to reality.

"My mother…Ursa."

**I decided to end the chapter here; after all I've always loved stories that have cliffhangers at the end of chapters, that is, if this could be considered a decent cliffhanger. I know I said that I probably wasn't going to have Zuko find his mother, but WHO KNOWS? Maybe I will or maybe I won't. Don't 4get to review and I'll have the next chapter up in a few days hopefully (I've always got a lot of free time over the weekends. I just posted this one earlier cuz of the long wait for the last one (sorry about that). Mind you, I flunked studying for a test so I could write this chapter, so, hopefully, I'll get a good amount of reviews). C yah l8r :^) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Not much really for me to say right now so, uhhh…on with the chapter I guess.**

**CHAPTER 4: DANCING AND DEPARTURE**

The next few days weren't too bad for the gaang. Katara was still mourning a little bit over the loss of Gran-Gran, as was Sokka, and their father, Hakoda stopped by, before leaving to go back to the Southern Water Tribe to help rebuild. Sokka and Katara both promised to go and visit home soon but had other things that they needed to take care of first.

The gaang decided not to stay in Ba Sing Se much longer as there were important things that they had to do (or at least important to them, anyway). Toph wasn't ready yet to see her parents, but admitted that in due time, she wished to pay them a visit; Suki really wanted to return to Kyoshi Island for a bit so she could catch up with her people and the other Kyoshi Warriors; Aang had important avatar work that he needed to take care of and Katara already agreed to go with him, before eventually visiting home; Sokka chose to go with Suki, as he didn't want to leave her side; and Toph was just desperate to leave what she called "a bunch of walls and rules", so she was happy to do whatever and go anywhere. Thus, it was finally decided by the gaang that they would all depart the day after the Earth King's party. They would've left earlier had it not been for the fact that the Earth King personally requested they attend, and even called them the great heroes who brought peace and balance back to a world previously at war.

On the evening of the party, the gaang was in their house getting ready to leave. Aang had chosen to wear his special monk robes that he had received from Zuko. He walked out of his room a few minutes later and went to knock on Katara's door.

"Just a sec" Katara called out anxiously.

Aang could hear her quickly rushing to do something.

After a minute or so, she pulled open the door and Aang was suddenly gawking at her. Aang couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked with her hair down. Her dress was pure royal blue and the top part was much like that of her Fire Nation outfit, except for the fact that it was tied behind her instead of over one of her shoulders. The bottom part of her dress came down to the floor and there were tiny blue sapphires embedded in it. The dress went great with her necklace. Also, Aang couldn't help but notice that the curve in Katara's breasts was just slightly visible.

"So…how do I look?" Katara asked Aang brightly.

"You…you look beautiful" Aang said, blushing. Katara blushed, too.

Aang held out his arm to Katara and she took it gladly as they made their way into the hall and stepped outside the house where the others were already waiting for them.

"What kept you guys?" Sokka asked, once again getting a little suspicious.

"Oh, I just had a few last minute things to do" Katara replied innocently.

Sokka was standing next to Suki and was wearing a traditional water tribe outfit. Suki, on the other hand, was wearing a deep red dress that glittered in the strangest way. Toph was simply wearing some pretty dress robes in the traditional Earth Kingdom style.

"Well? What are we all waiting for? Let's go already" Sokka droned.

Aang withdrew from his pocket his bison whistle and blew into it. A few moments later, Appa flew over to them from the other side of the house and landed softly on the ground as everyone clambered on.

"Yip yip Appa!" Aang said to Appa as he took off into the sky.

After about five minutes, the gaang landed next to the Earth King's Royal Palace and dismounted themselves from Appa, who took off again to fly back to the house.

"Wow, just look at how many people showed up!" Suki told them all in amazement as she gazed at the entrance where there was already a long line of people waiting to get in.

All of these people were wearing very fancy clothing and stopped talking when they saw who had arrived. The gaang got in line as whispers broke out all over the line of people, all of them no doubt talking about the avatar. Aang felt a little embarrassed and wished the people wouldn't stare, because Aang knew that once the girls started to take a notice into him, Katara wouldn't be all that pleased. To assure the onlookers that he was already taken, Aang took Katara's hand in his.

Slowly, the gaang made their way up to the front of the line and then entered the party. The room they entered was enormous. On the far left side of the room was a long set of tables holding some of the finest looking food ever. It was noticed by Sokka at once who immediately took Suki's hand and dragged her over there. In the center of the room was a dance floor, on which, many people were already dancing. Toph went over to the buffet as Aang and Katara were once again left alone.

Aang was so shy that he wasn't sure what to say to Katara. He turned to face her.

"I um do you uhhh…" Aang mumbled, trying to say what he wanted to say.

"Aren't you gonna ask me to dance with you" Katara said hopefully.

Aang grinned at his lover. "Katara…may I have this dance with you?"

She grinned back and responded "Gladly."

As Aang and Katara stepped onto the dance floor, a new song was struck up. Ironically, it was much like the one that they had danced to back in the cave. Aang could tell Katara realized this too, but this only pleased him more, and before either of them knew, it everyone else had stopped dancing in order to watch them. They repeated what they did last time and everyone was amazed by it. They all clapped as the song ended and went back to dancing when another song was struck up.

The next song played was one of those romantic slow-moving ones. Aang blushed as he put one of his arms around Katara's waist and held his other hand in hers. They moved slowly and gracefully, both of them blushing furiously.

"I wish they'd all stop staring" Katara said as she and Aang continued to dance perfectly on the spot.

"Don't worry about them, it's just about you and me right now" Aang recited to her, just as he had said it the last time they had danced together.

After a few more songs, Aang and Katara decided to take a break and went to find some food, before joining Toph at a nearby table. Sokka and Suki were now on the dance floor, Sokka a little dizzy, of course, after all the food he ate.

"Aren't you going to dance at all Toph?" Katara asked.

"Oh, well you know me, dancing really isn't my thing" she answered in her casual tone.

"So, Toph , tomorrow when we all leave to go traveling, do you want to visit your parents or do you need more time before you see them" Katara asked her conversationally.

Toph took a moment before answering in order to think over what Katara had said to her. She sighed before speaking. "I think…I think I need to pay them a visit" she said at last.

"Okay then, when we leave, we can head over to Gaoling so you can visit them and if you wanted to stay there for little bit then we could come and pick you up later" Aang said.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea" Toph agreed.

"So then it's settled" Aang stated. "Tomorrow morning we'll live and start to head over there. We should be able to get there in say a week or two, depending on how fast Appa flies."

Just then, Sokka and Suki came over and sat down with the others.

"Well, this party is officially boring. Can we go back now?" Sokka asked.

"Oh, but I still wanted to dance some more!" Katara said sadly, putting her head down.

"Here" Aang said, handing Sokka his bison whistle. "Me and Katara will catch up in a bit after we've danced some more."

Sokka took the whistle from Aang and got up, Suki and Toph joining him. "See you guys later" Suki told them, yawning, as she, Sokka, and Toph all walked off.

"It's okay Aang, if you want to go then we can go" Katara said quickly, not wanting to make Aang unhappy.

"No Katara. When you're happy, I'm happy. I want to do anything to make you happy. So, would you like to dance?" he asked her.

She didn't even reply, but grinned and pulled him by the arm eagerly as they ran back onto the dance floor. The next song was a slow one and Aang once again put one arm around Katara's waist and put his other hand in hers.

For another half hour they were both dancing smoothly with each other, both enjoying the night. When the party finally ended, Aang and Katara knew that they needed to get back.

"How will we get back?" Katara asked Aang curiously as they made their wait out of the Royal Palace and into the cool nighttime air.

"I've got it covered" replied Aang as he withdrew from his pocket a second bison whistle that was identical to the first one. "I got it a couple days ago. I just figured it'd be handy to have a second one" Aang explained.

"Good thinking" Katara remarked.

Aang blew into the whistle and within five minutes Appa was soaring thorough the sky towards them. "Thanks buddy" Aang told Appa just as he approached them.

Aang helped Katara up before moving onto Appa's head to get him in the air. Once Appa was airborne, Aang moved back into the saddle and found Katara curled up there shivering.

"I n-never r-realized how c-c-cold it was at n-night" Katara mumbled as her teeth chattered.

"Come here" Aang told her soothingly as he held out a hand to her.

She took Aang's hand and then cuddled next to him. He put his arms around her as she closed her eyes, resting her head on his lap. Aang stroked her hair peacefully. Almost immediately, Katara was fast asleep.

"Sleep well Katara, my love. One day I'll ask you to be mine forever" Aang whispered to her softly, knowing she was asleep and couldn't hear him. He gave her a soft kiss without waking her from her comfortable sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next thing Katara knew, she was in lying on her soft bed. She opened her eyes slightly and saw the morning sun shining through the window. All she could remember from the previous night was falling asleep in Aang's arms. She assumed he must've of brought her to her room after they got back to the house. When she realized that today was the day they were all leaving she got up quickly and rushed to get ready. Just as she ran out the door of her room she crashed right into Aang as they both fell to the floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Katara told Aang.

"It's okay," he replied quickly, helping her to her feet, "I was just coming to wake you, actually. Everything's nearly packed; we'll be leaving after breakfast.

"Okay, that sounds good" Katara replied as she walked with Aang into the kitchen.

Everyone else was already up and halfway through their meals; Sokka was onto his third platter of meat already.

"Oh, Aang, a letter just came for you. I think it's from Zuko and it seemed urgent" Sokka said between mouthfuls of meat.

"Alright, I'll check it out" he replied, giving Katara a peck on the cheek before heading into the other room.

As he walked in, he saw the messenger hawk waiting patiently on the windowsill. Aang removed the letter from it and opened it up. It said:

_Dear Aang,_

_How are you? I hope this letter reaches you before you begin your travels. You told me to let you know if there was any trouble that we would need your help with and unfortunately there is. There is something here that concerns you, but I shouldn't discuss it here in case this letter reaches the wrong person. It would be great if you could make it to the Fire Nation as soon as possible in order to help with this situation. Send back an answer as soon as you can and my best wishes to Sokka, Suki, Katara, Toph, and my uncle._

_Zuko, _

Aang turned the letter over and wrote on the back of it:

_We'll be there as soon as possible–Aang._

After sending off the messenger bird again, Aang made his way back into the kitchen area and took a seat next to Katara.

"Who was the letter from Aang?" Katara asked.

"It was from Zuko" Aang replied. "He needs me in the Fire Nation as soon as possible. He couldn't say too much in the letter in case it was intercepted, but he said that what he needed me for definitely concerned me, so it must be important."

"Well then, I guess we'll have to head over there straightaway" Katara confirmed.

"W-wait? What do you mean, we? I thought you wanted to visit your home again. If we went to the Fire Nation it might be weeks or even months before you could go back home!" Aang said quickly, surprised that Katara actually wanted to come with him.

"Oh Aang, you don't think I'd actually let you deal with this alone, do you?" she asked, smirking.

"But what about seeing your home and your family?" reasoned Aang.

It wasn't that he didn't want her to come, but he would feel guilty about having to drag her all across the world with him as he dealt with the world's problems.

"I can see them all after, but right now I just want to be with you. Please Aang" implored Katara.

"Alright, if that's what you really want" Aang said finally. "Oh, and Toph, were going to be passing Gaoling on the way to the Fire Nation. We could drop you off there, if you want, along the way and then come pick you up when were done in the Fire Nation, unless you'd rather come with us to the Fire Nation and see your parents after."

"I guess I'll just see them first. Besides, I could do with some pampering and relaxing for a few weeks" Toph said airily.

"Well gang, I think it's about time we all head off now" Sokka declared as he stretched and stood up.

Everyone followed his suit and headed outside. Sokka and Suki would be taking the Ba Sing Se train to the Outer Wall. From there, they would back through the Serpent's Pass and take a ship to Kyoshi Island. Meanwhile, Aang, Katara, and Toph would fly towards the Fire Nation. Along the way, Aang and Katara would drop Toph off at her parents' house in Gaoling. Then, after a few weeks in the Fire Nation, they would pick her back up and continue their journey from there.

The gaang was now outside, Appa with them, and they were all saying their goodbyes to one another. That's when Sokka turned to Aang and asked for a private word with him. They both walked back into the house for a minute and Sokka took in a deep breath before speaking. "Aang, as you know perfectly well, we're all going to be separated for a while now, so I'm not going to be able to watch over my sister. So, I'm now going to be counting on you to watch over her and protect her for me. Do you promise to do so?"

Aang hadn't expected Sokka to say this, but felt quite relieved when he did. It was like Sokka finally accepting that Aang loved Katara more than anything and would truly not let anything ever happen to her. Aang smiled. "I will Sokka, even if I have to die doing so."

"I knew you'd say that Aang, and thank you" Sokka said smiling. "I realize now that you would never do anything to hurt her and want whatever it takes to make her both happy and safe. So, I look forward to you, one day, being my brother-in-law."

Never, in a million years, would Aang have expected Sokka to say this to him, out of all things, but it pleased him all the same and he was very glad that Sokka finally accepted the fact that he and Katara were now dating, and, what's more, he had accepted that Aang would one day marry Katara. Aang was very relieved, though also a little embarrassed at the thought of him asking Katara to marry him. He did, of course, have no intentions of being with anyone else other than Katara, but knew that marriage was a long way away from now. After all, Katara and he had only been together for a week or so. "Thank you Sokka" Aang managed to say as he and Sokka walked back outside to join the others.

After a few more farewells, they all departed; Sokka and Suki on their way to Kyoshi Island and Aang, Katara, and Toph heading for the Gaoling and then the Fire Nation.

**Well, I hope you liked the chapter and please let me know what you think. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here we are again, ahem, I present to you all, chapter 5. =)**

**CHAPTER 5: THE ROUGH RHINOS AGAIN**

For a week or so, Aang, Toph, and Katara were up at dawn every morning and flying all day. As Zuko needed to discuss something important with Aang, he and Katara thought that they should get there as soon as possible.

"Hey look, we're almost at Gaoling!" Aang called out to Katara and Toph.

"You must be so excited to be seeing your parents again after all this time" Katara told Toph.

"Well…I'm really just hoping that they'll finally understand me by now. I mean seriously, what parents send two earthbending lunatics to try to capture me and bring me back home?" moaned Toph in disbelief.

"I'm sure that they just missed you and were worried about you" Katara replied, trying to comfort Toph.

"Yeah, well I don't need them to worry about me! I just wish for once they would really stop worrying. All they see me as is an innocent, weak, fragile, little, blind girl."

"I'm sure they won't be thinking that once they hear about everything you've done, not to mention training Aang and helping to put an end to the one hundred year long war" Katara reasoned.

"I hope so" Toph replied grumpily.

"And here we go" Aang said as Appa flew lower and lower until he landed just outside the Bei Fong residence.

"Good luck Toph" Katara said, giving her a hug.

"Yeah, I hope everything goes well with your parents. We'll be back in a few weeks hopefully" Aang said, waving to Toph as she jumped off of Appa.

"By guys!" Toph called back to them, waving, as they were lifted back into the air.

"See you soon!" Aang yelled back down.

After dropping off Toph, Aang and Katara flew for a few more hours before landing for the night to rest. Aang was setting up the tents and Katara was getting out food for her and Aang, as well as for Appa and Momo. After a filling meal, Aang gave Katara a goodnight kiss on the lips and they both made their ways into their own tents. Everything was fine and there wasn't anything to hint about was soon going to happen.

A few hours into the night, when both, Aang and Katara were asleep, men began to wander onto their campsite. They rode rhinos and each one of them looked as though they were specialized for a different type of weapon. They did nothing to Aang's tent, but one of them went into Katara's tent. There was a slight scream, but it was quickly muffled out before Aang could be awoken by it. There was another slight moan and then a crack and the sound of a body thudding onto the floor, as if someone had just been knocked unconscious. Little did Aang know what would be missing when he woke up the next morning…

When morning came, Aang slowly opened his eyes. He was still a little tired and hadn't gotten much sleep the night before as there had been a little bit of a racket just last night, but he had been too tired to go out and see what the racket was coming from. He decided to get up now though, because he knew that Katara and he would need to get a lot of flying done today in order to make it to the Fire Nation on time. So, Aang yawned and stretched while sitting up. He didn't hear anyone else outside of his tent, so he assumed that Katara must still be sleeping.

After leaving his tent to go wake Katara, he was quite surprised when he saw that Katara wasn't in her tent. Fear bubbled inside Aang for a moment before he relinquished it and figured that Katara must be down by the stream bathing or something. In that case, Aang chose to wake up and feed Appa and Momo before setting up a breakfast for him and Katara. He waited patiently for her to return, but she never did. After fifteen minutes of waiting, Aang knew that something was up. This wasn't like Katara to just disappear without even leaving a note or something. Suddenly, another possibility came to his mind. Aang gasped and his eyes widened with shock.

"Maybe she was kidnapped!" Aang said quickly in shock and fear.

He felt guilty all of a sudden when he remembered his conversation with Sokka the week before and how he had told Aang that he was trusting him to lookout for his sister.

"If anything has happened to her then it's all my fault!" Aang thought to himself.

Quickly, he positioned himself in an earthbending stance as he closed his eyes and just listened; he was using his seismic sensing which he had learned from Toph.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Let me go!" Katara yelled angrily as she shook violently at the metal cuffs put on her hands to stop her from waterbending.

"Quit pulling on those you stupid girl, otherwise you'll damage your wrist even more" the head Rough Rhino man grumbled slyly. "After all, we wouldn't want an accident, would we?" he added, grinning sinisterly as a flame appeared momentarily on his hand.

That was certainly true. The more Katara pulled on the chains the more she dislocated her already cracked wrist. It was very painful each time Katara pulled on the chains, but she was desperate to get away from the Rough Rhinos.

Along with a broken wrist, Katara's head throbbed, too, from the mark she had received when she was knocked unconscious. She was currently strapped to the back of the head Rough Rhino's rhino and had no idea where she was or where they were currently going. She had only just had her blindfold and gag removed, and she took the opportunity to mutter anything she could that might possibly get the Rough Rhinos to release her.

"The war is over!" Katara spat out angrily. "You're not supposed to be fighting anymore and once Aang rescues me your all going to have it worse than ever!"

All of the rough rhinos laughed uncontrollably at this.

"You can laugh all you want, but he'll come, I know it. And you don't have any idea what he's going to do to you when he finds me" Katara shot back in an attempt to scare the Rough Rhinos, though she wasn't doing a very good job, because they only laughed even more when Katara said this.

All of a sudden, Katara spotted two people in the distance. Her first thought was Aang, but as the Rough Rhinos got closer, Katara realized it was just an elderly Earth Kingdom couple. The man was bald, but had a long gray beard and brown eyes. The woman, on the other hand, had blue eyes and was about a foot shorter than the man, with fading gray hair. Feeling quite saddened at not seeing Aang, but with nothing else to lose Katara yelled out to them. "HELP!" she screamed. "The Rough Rhinos have kidnapped me! Please help me!"

The old couple ran forwards at once in an attempt to help her, but was blasted backwards when a firework of some sort exploded right in front of them.

"Hah! Nobody trespasses on the Rough Rhinos!" the head Rough Rhino yelled at the old couple as they courageously got back up and tried to follow the Rough Rhinos.

"Hang on dear! We're going to get help!" the old woman called out to Katara as the Rough Rhinos sped away before the elderly couple could reach them.

Hours went by and soon nightfall was approaching. Katara gazed up at the sky and noticed that it was a full moon. She gasped a little too noticeably as the head Rough Rhino spoke up. "What are you so shocked about?" he blurted out suspiciously.

Katara quickly removed her gaze from the sky, but not quickly enough, for the head Rough Rhino spotted immediately what she was looking at.

"Ah, the full moon is out tonight. I had almost forgotten what that meant. Well Rough Rhinos, we must take extra care of our "guest" tonight so there isn't any trouble" the head Rough Rhino grunted.

"I suggest we pull over for the night" said the Rough Rhino wearing the mask, who also specialized in the explosives.

"Right, you are" the head Rough Rhino replied as he and the rest of the Rough Rhinos pulled their Rhinos over to the side.

They rode away from the pathway and into the woods to ensure nobody could find them. They stopped when they reaching a small clearing of trees and set up their camp. One of them yanked Katara by her handcuffs off the rhino and she crashed painfully onto the floor. The Rough Rhino groggily pulled her too her feet and forcefully directed her towards one of the large trees.

"Now, don't give me any trouble while I remove these cuffs or you'll pay dearly for it" he whispered scarily to her.

He grabbed some thick rope and took out a small silver key. While keeping a firm hold on Katara with one hand, he undid the handcuffs, the exact thing Katara had been waiting for him to do. Pulling up her right and undamaged wrist she blew mist from her mouth and used her uninjured hand to direct it to the Rough Rhino in front of her and to freeze him right on the spot.

"HEY! SHE'S GETTING AWAY!" the head Rough Rhino yelled to his fellow comrades as they stared at the figure of Katara disappearing into the trees. "Well don't just stand there you blabbering fools! STOP HER!"

All the Rough Rhinos, excepting the frozen one, charged at Katara who was running past tree after tree as fast as her legs could take her. She turned her face in horror and saw the three Rough Rhinos only feet behind her. She used her right hand to bend the water out of a nearby tree and sent it as frozen spikes at the three Rough Rhinos chasing her. The head Rough Rhino lazily waved his hand as fire streamed out of his fingertips and melted all of the ice spikes into steam.

"Get away from me!" screamed Katara in fear, still running for her life as she bended a large amount of water out of the grass and trees and whipped it all at the Rough Rhinos. One Rough Rhino failed to stop the water whip and was thrown off of his rhino as his companion slowed down to save him. This only left the head Rough Rhino on her tail.

"When I catch you, I'm going to burn you to a crisp faster than you could even scream" the head Rough Rhino roared at the top of his lungs as he laughed evilly.

"No you won't!" Katara yell back as she bravely stopped running and turned to face him.

Just as she turned he sent a full blast of fire towards her, but she sucked the water out of the trees next to her and put the fire out before it could make contact with her. However, just as she was about to waterbend again, the Rough Rhino that she had previously frozen came up behind her and tackled her to the ground.

"No! Please; get OFF ME!" Katara screamed as she became worried and tears were filling in her eyes.

"Let's get her back to camp. And quick!" the head Rough Rhino commanded to his comrade. "Oh, and gag and chain her again. Now!"

"Yes leader!" the other Rough Rhino called back.

He kept a firm grip on Katara's uninjured and squirming arm as he put her back in cuffs and gagged her. Katara, once again tried to struggle, but it was use, for the Rough Rhino was just too strong for her. As the Rough Rhino made his way back to camp, gripping Katara's arm tightly she shed a few tears. "Aang…please" Katara said to herself as she began to cry.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Many hours earlier…

"No…noooo…NOOOOOOOOO!" Aang yelled as loud as he could, banging the ground angrily with his fists and making it tremble beneath him.

He tried yet again to feel for any nearby vibrations of humans, but there were none. There wasn't one single sound that could possibly lead Aang to Katara. So, quickly forgetting about the breakfast that he had set up, Aang told Appa to stay there and then opened his glider and soared into the air. He stayed just above the trees and scanned the ground beneath them for any sign of human life. He was feeling desperately sick right now at the thought of where Katara could be, and even worse, what they could possibly be putting her through, that is, whoever it was that had kidnapped her. He shuddered as he prayed with all his heart that she wasn't being tortured. It was his fault, after all, that she had been kidnapped. He should have stayed up and watched over her or at least chosen a more secure location to set up camp.

Aang gulped. "I'm coming for you Katara" Aang said aloud to himself confidently, hoping that she was alright.

Eventually, after several hours of flying, Aang saw a rode in the distance. What's more, there were people on the road! Aang couldn't tell who they were, or if Katara was among them from the height that he was at. So, he flew lower down and landed right in front of them and was very disheartened to see that Katara was not among them. It was just two old people, an old woman and an old man. The woman had blue eyes, fading gray hair, and was about a foot shorter than the man, who had a completely bald head, brown eyes, and a gray, flowing beard.

The old couple gasped. "You must be the avatar!" they said together, recognizing Aang immediately when they saw the blue arrow on his head.

"Yeah" Aang replied, figuring he ought to go now before he wastes anymore time. The longer he waited, the further away Katara could be getting, or even worse, the more pain she could be enduring. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I should really get going, because I need to save someone."

"Yes! That's what we were about to tell you!" the old man said hastily. He continued, "Only a couple of hours ago we came across a group of Fire Nation people and they had a girl with them"

"What happened?" Aang replied quickly, so worried about what he might hear.

"We heard the girl scream and she called out to us" the woman said back. "She said 'help! The Rough Rhinos have kidnapped me! Please help me!' We tried to help her, but one of the men blasted us off our feet and by the time we managed to get back up again, they were already long ahead of us."

"What did the girl look like?" Aang asked anxiously, praying it wasn't who he thought it was. After all, the Rough Rhinos, as he knew, were ruthless men and it was complete torture to Aang to think about what they might be doing to Katara right now at this very moment. Aang gulped nervously as he awaited the old couple's answer.

Neither of them answered for a moment as they were both struggling to remember what the girl they briefly saw looked like. At last, the man answered Aang. "She was wearing a blue outfit, likely that of the Water Tribe, and she had long chocolate brown hair. Oh, and she was wearing a pretty betrothal necklace, too."

Aang's worst fears had now been realized. Now he knew what had happened; Katara had been kidnapped by the Rough Rhinos, probably as bait to lure him there, but there was no way that he wasn't going to rescue Katara and, after all, he could take the Rough Rhinos. He now just needed to know where they were.

The old man sensed what Aang was thinking. "They went that way" he said pointing towards the long road.

"Okay, I guess I should be going now. Thanks for all your help" Aang told the elderly couple, bowing to them.

"It was our pleasure to help you, young avatar. And by the way, she's very pretty you know, so make sure that when you get her back you cherish every moment with her" the old woman advised, smiling.

"Oh…yeah, I will, thanks again" Aang replied, embarrassed. Without another word, he took off into the sky on his glider once more, readily determined to find and save Katara. He only hoped that he wasn't too late.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

When the Rough Rhino grasping Katara finally made it back to camp, the other three were waiting there eagerly.

"Sir" the Rough Rhino holding Katara began. "She is much too dangerous to take around like this. It seems inevitable that her hands must be destroyed to prevent any further threats of possible escape from the use of waterbending."

"Then burn her hands!" the Rough Rhino that specialized in arrows commanded.

"Silence! Only I may make the decisions around here" the head Rough Rhino shot back. "As nice as that idea sounds, it would be useless as she could simply heal her hands with waterbending. We cannot burn them, but we can crush them" he finished grinning evilly.

At this, Katara's eyes were wide with fear. All she could do now was pray that Aang would make it here in time. "Please Aang, you're my only hope" Katara said to herself again.

"What are you lazybones just standing around for? I said crush her hands, now!" the head Rough Rhino demanded angrily.

One of the Rough Rhinos grabbed Katara's wrists and held them on the ground tightly. The amount of pressure he was putting on Katara's wrists sent sharp pain into her broken wrist. Another Rough Rhino and his companion found a large rock and together, they lifted it. As they carried it over to Katara and held it high above her hands, Katara sat there, so scared at was about to happen and the head Rough Rhino sat across from her, excitedly awaiting what was about to happen.

"Drop it!" the head Rough Rhino commanded.

Just as the head Rough Rhino commanded, the two Rough Rhinos holding the heavy rock released it. And then it fell and-

**I ues you'll have to wait for chapter 6 if you want to know what happens. The next one is going to be dedicated all to those kataang fans out there, because I know it's been a while since I've had any kataang fluff. That's right, a whole entire chapter all about kataangy goodness (don't worry, it isn't a lemon, not yet anyway, lol)! Review please! ;) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry that this chapter took longer than the last one, but, like I said before, I don't have much time on the weekdays, so I managed to get this one out today. Now just sit back, relax, and enjoy the kataang fluff, goodness, lemons, or whatever the hell you want to call it. Oh and please review! ;^) **

**CHAPTER 6: TOGETHER ****AT LA****ST **

Katara closed her eyes shut as the two Rough Rhinos holding the rock dropped it. And then it fell and then it didn't. The Rough Rhinos all stood there in confusion. Even the one holding down Katara let go of her in shock. Katara, too scared to move, opened her eyes a fraction and saw the rock floating just inches above her. Then it suddenly cracked in two and fell to the floor.

There was a powerful gust of wind as the Rough Rhino who had been holding down Katara was blasted off his feet and slammed, face first, into a tree. He fell to the floor unconscious with a bloody face. That was when Katara realized that there was only one person in the whole wide world who could move the wind. She turned her head and there he was at long last, Avatar Aang, there to save her.

Katara's eyes filled with tears of relief, she was saved. She tried to yell out Aang's name, but remembered that she was gagged and so only a moan was able to escape her mouth. Aang suddenly turned to look at Katara with fear, worry, and relief in his eyes. He also felt horrified at the site of her in chains, gagged, and with a swelling bruise on her face and broken wrist. He ran over to her, but all four Rough Rhinos got in the way.

"You!" Aang said angrily looking straight into the eyes of the head Rough Rhino.

"Rough Rhino's attack!" yelled the head Rough Rhino.

The Rough Rhinos all charged at Aang, but he was well ready for them. For only a moment, his eyes and tattoos lit up as he unleashed the almighty power of the avatar state onto the four Rough Rhinos. The ground beneath the Rough Rhinos was instantly shoved upward and the Rough Rhinos were all thrown fifty feet into the air. They all fell back down with a hard thud and did not stir. Aang then turned the ground beneath them to quicksand and trapped them all in the ground, before turning his attention to Katara.

"Katara!" Aang yelled in relief as he ran over to her.

He used the metalbending he had learned from Toph to break her handcuffs and immediately un-gagged her. Aang threw his arms around her and held her close, tears streaming down his face. "Thank goodness I found you. I was so scared that if I…if I didn't make it in time, what if–" but, he wasn't able to say it. More tears ran down his face.

Katara was lost for words. She just continued to sit there, Aang holding her and tears running down her face, too. She had never been happier to see him then she was right now.

"Oh Aang, I knew you'd come" Katara said, hugging him tighter.

"Let's get out of here" Aang said after a few minutes.

"What are you going to do about the Rough Rhinos?" Katara asked as Aang helped her to her feet.

"They can stay trapped underground for now. When we get to the Fire Nation, Zuko can send men back here to imprison them for what they did to you" Aang replied, suddenly hating the Rough Rhinos even more than he already did.

He lifted up Katara gently and cradled her in his arms. Then, he jumped twenty feet in the air and made his way with her into the unknown woods. He eventually stopped when he reached a small grass clearing next to a stream and he found a nice grassy spot, which he lay Katara down on. He waterbended some water over to them, which Katara drank, gratefully.

"Thank you Aang" she replied as she used her uninjured hand to bend some more of the water onto the swelling bump on her face. The water glowed bright blue for a moment and then the bump was instantly gone.

"We should get some bandages around your wrist" Aang said, looking down at Katara's broken wrist in horror that he had allowed this to happen to her. "I guess this will have to do" he mumbled as he pulled off his shirt and tore it into strips.

"This might hurt for a second, but the bone needs to be back in its proper place" Aang told Katara in a tone that was filled with fear of hurting his beloved.

"Don't worry Aang, I trust you completely" Katara assured him as she slowly lifted her left arm for him.

Aang took it tenderly as though it were a prized possession and took a look at the bone pressing against Katara's skin.

"Hmmm, it only seems to be fractured, so that's a relief" Aang commented as he continued to carefully examine every inch of Katara's wrist.

He took a deep breath and then gently pushed at the place where the bone was at an awkward angle. Katara instantly took in a sharp breath as she felt some pain in her arm, but allowed Aang to continue, knowing it was all for the best. When Aang felt certain that the bone was back in its proper place he took his torn shirt and wrapped it firmly around Katara's wrist.

"There. That should do it. A few weeks and then the cast should be ready to come off.

"I owe you so much Aang" Katara told him lovingly as she gazed up affectionately into his eyes.

"No, if anything, I owe you so much for making me the happiest guy in the world right now. Every day I'm with you Katara I feel so happy and grateful, but when you were kidnapped I felt the worst in my life. If I was never able to find you, I wouldn't have wanted to live anymore. You keep me attached to this world, and I'd do whatever it takes to make you happy and safe. I love you Katara."

"I'm happy as long as I can be with you and I love you, too, Aang, to the end of the universe." Katara whispered fervently.

Aang, so full of happiness to hear these words coming out of the mouth of the woman he had loved since he first met her, lied beside Katara and leaned in to kiss her. He held their kiss for a few moments before breaking it to gaze lovingly into his girlfriend's beautiful blue eyes. Katara, unable to resist any longer, pulled Aang's face back towards her and kissed him both forcefully and gently. She missed the feeling of his warm lips against hers so much that she didn't want to remove her lips from his.

Katara's uninjured arm was around Aang's neck and the other was on his chest, stroking it. Katara loved the feel of her hand on Aang's bear chest. Both of Aang's hands were around Katara's waist. One of them made its way up to her back and then back down, caressing it soothingly. As Katara's hand on Aang's chest slowly made its way down lower, Aang broke their kiss, only to begin kissing Katara's neck. Katara enjoyed the feeling so much that she let out a small moan of pleasure. This just encouraged Aang to continue. After kissing her neck, he made his way up her jaw line and kissed her cheek. Then, he moved onto her earlobe. Katara, enjoying the feeling of Aang's light nibbling on her ear, turned her head and moved her body so that Aang was hovering inches over her, his lips just a centimeter away from hers. They both smiled at each other sensually before kissing intensely again.

"Nobody's going to disturb us tonight, you know, and nobody is ever going to take you away from me again" Aang spoke, both softly and sweetly, in between kisses.

"What makes you so sure?" Katara asked slyly while grinning.

"Because I'm never going to leave your side Katara, not now, not ever again." Aang replied definitely.

"Good" Katara replied; she blushed from what she said next, "because, it's going to be a cold night."

And with that, she gave Aang a long passionate kiss, before snuggling next to him as close as she physically could. Aang's arms were around Katara and her head was resting on his chest, one arm over his bald head and the other on top of his chest.

Katara fell asleep almost immediately after lying on Aang's chest, but not Aang. He stayed awake for a long time, thinking over the events of the past few hours and about what would be coming next. He knew that the world still needed him and he would have much traveling to do in order to help rebuild the world. He wasn't sure if he wanted Katara to come with him when he begun these daily travels. Of course, he would love it if she came, because he never liked to be separated from her, even for a few days. But, part of Aang really didn't want to her to come, seeing as that would put her in a lot of danger. He had been lucky tonight, but would he be lucky the next time? How could he possibly allow Katara to continue to travel with him when he was still wanted dead by plenty of people? Aang chose not to think about this now and to just enjoy now, because, right now, as he dwelt on these very thoughts, the girl of his dreams was lying just beside him, cuddled up in his arms.

"I'll face this stuff when it comes up" Aang told himself confidently as he wrapped his arms around his lover softly and allowed himself to drift off to sleep, knowing that the girl in his arms was safe, as long as he was there to protect her.

Aang had a very strange dream. In it, he felt wet, really wet. He opened his eyes and realized that this wetness was coming from a giant tongue. It wasn't just any tongue, either. It belonged to a furry, ten ton bison. Aang chuckled softly. "Hey buddy, did you miss me?" Aang asked, yawning.

Appa let out a low groan. Aang gave another chuckle. "I'll take that as a yes."

Aang suddenly remembered that Katara was still sleeping on him and he turned his head to look down at her. Aang sighed in relief. Katara was still asleep, so Aang stayed where he was and began to absentmindedly stroke Katara's soft cheeks.

"Mmmm" Katara moaned peacefully, still keeping her eyes closed as a small smile came onto her face.

"Good morning beautiful" Aang said softly and cheerfully, planting a light kiss on Katara's lips.

"Mmmm…it's still early Aang" Katara mumbled sleepily, still not opening her eyes.

"I know, but Appa just came here. I think we should start flying and you must be starving, not having any food for a whole day!" Aang reasoned.

"I don't need to eat when I'm with you" Katara said sweetly, finally opening her eyes and stretching.

Aang blushed. "So, would you like anything? Any breakfast at all?" Aang asked awkwardly, still blushing.

"Yes, I suppose so, as long as I can eat with you" Katara responded lovingly.

"I wouldn't want it any other way" Aang replied.

Aang got up, but when Katara made to follow his suit, he stopped her. "It's okay Katara. You don't need to do anything. You've just been through a terrible ordeal and I want you to be able to relax and not have to work, you deserve it."

"No, no, I want to help Aang. I'm not even tired anymore" Katara explained quickly.

She took Aang's hands and he pulled her up and held her close to her. "I love you Katara, so much" Aang told her.

Katara gazed back at Aang smiling caringly. "And I love you, too, so much."

They leaned in to kiss one another. They held there kiss long and softly, neither one of them wanting to break it. Aang loved Katara so much and he wanted to show her how much he loved her. He had his arms around her and her arms were around him. He increased the passion of their kiss and pressed his tongue forward against Katara's lips. She opened her mouth wider, granting him access and allowed his tongue to explore her mouth. Of all the kisses Aang and Katara had shared, this one lasted the longest. By the time Aang finally pulled away, both, he and Katara were panting and gasping for breath.

The rest of the morning was delightful and comfortable. It seemed that ever since the events of the previous day, in which Katara and Aang had both been so scared that they might never see each other again, their relationship had done nothing but grow even closer. They had still only been together for a couple of weeks, and both of them were quite young, but Aang and Katara both felt that love had no age limit.

By the time Aang and Katara finally got onto Appa and began flying, it was already noon. They had been enjoying their time together so much that they hadn't realized how much time had passed.

"Can I stay up here with you?" Katara asked Aang with a hopeful expression on her face. "It's quite lonely in the saddle."

Aang held out his hand to Katara who took it eagerly and clambered onto Appa's head with him. "Of course you can" Aang replied putting his arm around Katara.

And for the rest of the ride that day, Aang did not remove his arm from around Katara.

A few days later…

It was nearing the evening and Aang and Katara were almost at the Fire Nation. They hoped to arrive early the next day. They would've continued flying that night, but Appa was very tired, so they decided to wait until the morning to continue.

"Man, I'm exhausted" Aang said, jumping off of Appa and landing on the ground quite softly, due to his airbending abilities.

"Me too, Appa has the right idea wanting to sleep" Katara replied, yawning as she dismounted herself from Appa.

Aang airbended their stuff off of Appa and Katara waterbended water from the river next to their campsite and into a large urn. It took her slightly longer than usual, because she was only able to use one hand. Aang collected some wood and lit a fire to cook his and Katara's food on. As he was cooking, Katara came over and sat next to him. She put and arm around him and handed him a small cup of water.

"Thank you" he replied as he drank it all down in one gulp. "By the way, I was wondering if we could talk about some things."

"Of course Aang, anything" Katara replied, encouraging Aang to continue while gently rubbing his back.

"Well, it's about, you know, us. I mean, in just a month you're going to be fifteen and I'm still going to be twelve for another few weeks. Aren't you gonna feel awkward dating a twelve year old?" Aang said, a little bit anxious.

Katara saw the worry in Aang's eyes when he said this and she took his hand in both of hers and reassured him. "Love shows no limits to age Aang. I don't care how young you are. Just because I will be three years older than you for a few weeks doesn't mean I'm going to not love you or feel awkward around you. You make me feel safe and comforted and I don't want you to doubt that I love you, because I do love you Aang, with all my heart."

Aang was only able to smile gratefully at Katara and before he knew it, he was kissing her again. His hands were massaging her back and one of hers was slowly making its way down to Aang's manhood. Before it made it there, though, Katara urgently broke their kiss and yelled to Aang "Dinner's on fire!"

"Oh, I guess I kind of forgot about that when this stunningly beautiful woman came over to me" Aang said, smiling mischievously as he hastily bended some water onto the burning food. "I guess dinner's ready."

"Don't talk" Katara told Aang as she looked at him sensually.

She threw her arms back around him and claimed his lips. This kiss wasn't gentle, but was very passionate and even ferocious. Both of them were attempting to show the other how much they loved them through this kiss. It became deeper and wider, both of their tongues dancing together. Katara was starting to get a tingling feeling in her. She had never felt this before, but enjoyed it all the same. Her womanhood was starting to moisten. Aang, on the other hand, felt his manhood getting harder and even Katara could feel it pressing against her. As the pleasure they were both experiencing began to build up, Aang stopped.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked Aang nervously.

"Nothing, I'm just wondering if we should really be rushing these things, that's all" Aang replied, hoping Katara wasn't too hurt about him stopping.

"I suppose you've got a point" she agreed, "but I was just getting so excited and I wasn't sure what came over me. I'm sorry Aang."

Aang realized that Katara took it the wrong way. "No, don't be sorry, that's not what I meant Katara. I was really enjoying it, too, and I really didn't want to stop, I was just nervous that I was going too far with you" Aang explained quickly.

"Aang, however far we go is never too far for me. When were both ready, we'll take things further" she said smiling.

Aang smiled back and then they both helped themselves to the vegetable stew.

"I wonder what it is that Zuko's going to need help with" Aang said to Katara, striking up a conversation.

"Hmmm" Katara said. "You know, I wonder if this has anything to do with his mother."

"What about his mother?" Aang asked with wonder.

That's when Katara realized that she never had gone into details with anyone about her time with Zuko in the old catacombs, deep under Ba Sing Se. So, Katara explained to Aang everything that Zuko had told her about his mother.

"Wow, I can't believe I never knew. I think you're right Katara. That really might be what he needs me for. He might've found some evidence that could lead to where she is; that is, if she's, you know, still alive."

"Oh, I hope she is. Zuko would be so happy if he could be reunited with his mother again" Katara replied.

As the night went on, Aang and Katara continued to discuss Zuko's mother until it was really getting late. When it was time to go to bed, Aang made a large earth tent and Katara grabbed some blankets. Ever since Aang had rescued Katara, he was too afraid of her being kidnapped again to let her sleep alone. Katara didn't mind in the slightest; in fact, she quite enjoyed sleeping with Aang and cuddling with him. It gave her a feeling of calmness and safety. However, Aang was uncertain whether or not Katara wanted to continue sleeping with him, so he brought this up to her.

"Uhh, Katara?" Aang began.

"Yeah?" she responded brightly from within the earth tent as she set up the blankets.

"If you um don't want me sleeping with you anymore, I-I'm okay with that" he said, choosing his words carefully.

"You'd rather we slept separately" Katara asked, confused and with a slight sadness in her voice.

"No no!" Aang said quickly. "I enjoy sleeping with you, I just wasn't sure if you did. I'm sorry, I was just so worried about you that I was afraid for you to be out of my sight again, but if you want your own personal space at night, then I'll respect that."

"Aang" Katara said, coming out of the tent, "I love you and want to be with you. You're my boyfriend and, yes, I do enjoy sleeping with you."

They both blushed red. Aang walked over to Katara and gave her a flat out and unexpected hug.

"What was that for?" Katara asked when he let her go, "Not that I didn't want it!" she added quickly, realizing what she had just said, "But, it was just unexpected."

"I guess I just needed a hug" Aang told her, blushing again.

"Oh Aang" Katara whispered sympathetically, her eyes a little watery. "Come here."

Aang stepped back over to Katara and she put her arms around him and gave him several kisses on his cheek. Then, she moved her lips toward his face and kissed him full on the lips. Her kiss was short, but sweet, and it made Aang feel a lot better.

"Come on, let's get inside" Katara told her boyfriend comfortingly. She took him by the hand into the earth tent and lied down on the blankets, motioning for him to lie down next to her. As soon as he did, she moved closer to him and entwined her body around his so that they were still hugging. And, within a few minutes, they were both sound asleep, at ease in each others arms.

**And there you have it, a chapter completely dedicated to kataang fans and don't worry; their relationship is going to grow even more as the story continues. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, but there is something very important that all who read this must do. There is something important that you must click. It is just three simple words that lie right beneath this very paragraph. REVIEW THIS CHAPTER. I'm hoping to get the next one up by Sunday or Monday hopefully (I got a lot of time now that it's the weekend). Please let me know what you think of the chapter and I'll start straightaway on the next chapter (I actually already have some of it done). Bye :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm super sorry that you guys needed to wait a week for this chapter when I said I'd have it up by Sunday or Monday, but something unexpected turned up in my schedule and delayed me from writing this chapter, so I'm sorry for that, but here it is, finally. **

**CHAPTER 7: NEW PROBLEMS ARISE **

Their stuff was packed, they were well fed, and more importantly, they were ready. Aang and Katara left first thing in the morning as they were both eager to get to the Fire Nation as soon as possible.

"There it is!" Aang said, pointing towards the Fire Nation Royal Palace.

They landed just outside the palace and no sooner had then they landed, Mai and Zuko rushed out to greet them.

"Aang! Katara! Welcome, we weren't expecting you for at least another…Katara are you okay?" Zuko asked in concern as his eyes moved down to her bandaged arm.

"Just a broken wrist" she replied, shrugging, as she gave Zuko, and then Mai, a friendly hug.

"But who–" Zuko began, still feeling concerned.

Aang cut across him. "The Rough Rhinos. We had a run in with them on our way."

"Man, I should've known! I sent out men to look for them a week ago" Zuko replied, as though it were all his fault.

"It's okay. I trapped them underground in some woods not too far from here. You can have your men go there and take care of them" Aang replied, clearing up the matter.

"Mai, could you go let the alert the guards that our guests have arrived? Tell them to prepare two rooms for them" Zuko asked of her.

"Alright, I guess I'll leave you to discuss the news with them" she replied plainly as she walked off.

"Zuko? Does this news have anything to do with your mother?" Katara questioned, looking at him with both concern and perhaps worry.

He raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know?" he asked, surprised.

"Instinct" Aang put in.

"Well, anyway, it actually does have to do with her. There are a few things of importance that'll need to be discussed, but for now, please make yourselves at home. The meals will all be served in the main kitchen, which is just through those doors and down the hallway on the left. Just drop in when you're hungry and they'll serve you. Your rooms should be ready by now, so we might as well bring your things in" Zuko said, before adding "Oh and right outside your rooms is a shelter built specially for Appa, so he'll be right by you guys."

The three of them got their stuff from Appa and headed inside. Zuko showed Aang and Katara to their rooms, announced when lunch would be, and then strolled off to give them time to unpack and rest from their long journey.

"Do you mind if I bring my stuff in here?" Katara asked, blushing as she stepped into Aang's slightly bigger room.

"Not in the slightest" he replied, smiling at his girlfriend.

Katara sighed peacefully as she put down her stuff and sat down on the tip of Aangs bed. Aang sat down next to her and put his arm around her.

"Can you tell me something Aang?" Katara asked pleasantly.

"Anything you want to know" he responded in the same pleasant tone.

"What went through your mind when you woke up and couldn't find me?"

"I instantly became worried" he began, not expecting her to bring up this subject, but still explaining truthfully to her what had been going thorugh his mind. "At first, I thought, or at least hoped that you were maybe down by the stream or something, but when you never returned I knew something was up. It really scared me, knowing that someone might have kidnapped you. The first thing I did was feel around for any nearby vibrations. I was hoping that whoever took you was still nearby, but sadly they weren't. So, I got on my glider and spent hours flying all over the woods searching for you."

"How did you eventually find me?" Katara responded curious to know how Aang was able to locate her.

"It was really thanks to an old couple I met while I was flying around. They told me what you said and then I felt horrible that I let this happen to you. I continued flying the direction they pointed me in and when I got closer I was able to feel the vibrations and locate where you were. Your heartbeat was really high though, so I was afraid that I-I might've been t-too late" Aang finished, gulping as he tried not to think about what might have happened if he hadn't made it to Katara in time.

"I don't ever want to lose you again Katara" he said, looking worriedly into her eyes and tenderly placing one of his hands onto her broken one and stroking it softly, thinking mournfully that he had allowed this to happened to her wrist. He leaned down and placed a small kiss on Katara's hand as she spoke up.

"And I don't ever want to lose you again" Katara replied, wiping her eyes on her shirt before leaning in to kiss Aang back.

There kiss didn't last more than a few seconds, however, because there was a small cough.

"Ahem. Sorry to disturb your uh, moment together, but Zuko would like to see you Aang" Mai said dully as though the stuff Zuko was about to discuss with Aang wasn't interesting in the slightest. "I'm sure he won't mind if you come along, too, Katara" Mai added seeing her slightly annoyed expression that her boyfriend needed to be borrowed just as they were sharing a romantic moment together.

It wasn't that Katara didn't want Aang to go and help Zuko, but she just wished for once, that the world could solve its own problems for once and leave the avatar be, but she knew that that would never happen and that the world was going to always need Aang. She was just going to have to accept that and deal with it.

Aang sensed exactly how Katara was feeling. "Don't worry, we'll spend some time together later" he said.

And when Mai left the room, signaling for them to follow her, Aang pulled Katara to her feet and quickly put his arms around her for a second. "I promise we will" he said.

He suddenly dived in for a big wet kiss to his girlfriend that was very quick and very passionate all the same, before following Mai out of the room, pulling Katara along with them, who instantly felt love struck for Aang, as well as slightly embarrassed after his unexpected and passionate kiss to her. She didn't think she would ever stop blushing this time. Aang thought so, too.

"So, what does Zuko want to talk with us about, I mean he wasn't necessarily clear in his letter" Katara asked Mai, getting back to her normal personality, though still attempting not blush as she held Aang's hand tightly in her own.

"Oh, you'll see. He'll tell you when he does. I'm not sure he'd want me to spoil the news" she said back simply.

"Could you at least tell us if it's good news or bad news?" Katara replied, encouraging Mai to reveal the news.

"A little bit of both…I guess" she replied frankly, choosing her words carefully, as to not reveal too much. "Here we are" she stated, stopping in front of a large door and knocking on it three times.

"Is that you guys?" came Zuko's voice.

"Yeah, it's us" Aang called back.

"Come in, come in guys" Zuko responded quickly.

Aang, Katara, and Mai all entered and took seats in the nearby armchairs directly across from Zuko.

"So, thanks for coming guys and as you know from my urgent letter, there are some important matters that must be discussed. The first thing is about my mother. Though, I'm assuming you were expecting this" Zuko said.

"Sort of" Aang replied, nodding for Zuko to continue.

"Anyway, about my mother, I had visited Ozai recently in his cell and asked him where my mother was. He told me on the day of the eclipse that she committed vicious treason on the night Firelord Azulon died. Whatever it was that she did, it saved my life, because Ozai was going to kill me after Azulon commanded him to. Because of what she did Ozai became the new Firelord and my mother was banished and that was when I realized that she still might be alive. So, back to when I visited him. I, of course, asked where she was and he refused, pointblank, to tell me anything. He just sat there and didn't utter a single word. At that point, I thought my situation was hopeless, that is, until I went to visit Azula. I managed to convince her that Ozai had told me everything about my mom, including where exactly she is right now. Well, you can imagine; she went completely crazy after that, so crazy that she let something slip."

Aang and Katara were now on the tips of their seats, very eager and curious to hear what Zuko was going to say next. Mai, on the other hand, was simply sitting back in her chair with drooping eyes as she twirled one of her silver daggers in her hand, oblivious to what Zuko was saying, either because she did not care, or more likely because Zuko had already discussed this with her.

"So, what did she let slip" Aang asked eagerly.

"She…she said: "_I don't care what father told you! Besides, after Ba Sing Se was captured, she fled, so not even he knows where she is Zuzu! That is, if they hadn't managed to kill her first!_" Zuko said, putting on an imitation of Azula's voice and tone.

"So, then, do you know where exactly she is?" Katara asked, hoping that Zuko would be able to find his mother.

"That's where you guys come in. I plan on going to Ba Sing Se soon, because if Azula was right then that's where she used to be and maybe I can find clues while I'm there about what she was doing while she was there and where she might be now."

"Where is Azula right now? Is she in that jail by this palace" Aang questioned, looking concerned about what had been happening in the Fire Nation ever since the war had ended.

"No. Not anymore. I found a mental institution on Whale Tale Island, so I thought it would be all for the best if I sent her there. She should be arriving there in a matter of weeks and she'll be under constant watch to ensure no escape. And while she's there she might be able to get her head straight again. Not that I'm going to let her out!" Zuko blurted out quickly when he saw both Aang and Katara raise an eyebrow.

"I plan on having her stay there for the rest of her life" he continued. "It'll be better keeping her separate from the rest of the world, maybe even give her time to think about what she's done, but don't worry, I don't plan on releasing her. She's just too dangerous, even without her mind. In fact, in a way, that sort of makes her even more dangerous, because there's no telling how she'll react to something."

"Is there anything else you need help with besides your mother" Aang asked, wanting to be done already so he could spend some time Katara.

"Yes actually, there is." Zuko replied, glad Aang was prepared to help him. "It seems that there are still a number of Fire Nation citizens who have been rebelling against the war being over. They've already put a major toll on the damage already inflicted by the war across the world. They've been strongest in a number of different unexpected areas. This includes Ember Island, multiple areas in the rest of the Fire Nation, Gaoling, and–"

"Did you say GAOLING?" Katara asked fiercely.

"Yeah, why–" Zuko started, but was cut off again.

"That's where Toph lived and we just dropped her off there last week!" Aang exclaimed in shock and worry.

"We have to get there as soon as–" Katara began, but was cut off.

"Katara–" Zuko tried to say.

"If something happens to her–" Katara started again.

"Katara!" Zuko attempted again, only a little bit louder.

"How could we just leave her there–" Katara cried out.

"KATARA!" Zuko shouted, finally bringing her back to her senses. "It's okay Katara. I have part of the situation under control. I've just received an intelligence report from one of the people living in Gaoling. The Fire Nation Rebellions have been lying quite low there for a while. I think they might be planning an attack at some point, but there a long way away from that now."

"Are you sure?" Katara asked tensely, her motherly instincts taking over.

"Toph will be fine Katara. She's a tough girl, She can take care of herself" Aang said calmingly as he lay his hand on top of hers.

"If I may bring us back to the point of this discussion" Mai started suddenly, as though she had only just entered the room, "then I suggest you press on the matters we are supposed to be discussing Zuko. I believe, after all, that it was my understanding that you needed Aang's help with these rebellions."

"Uh, well yes Mai, you're right. I do need your help Aang. You see, I'm not quite sure how we're going to stop all of these rebellions, I mean we don't want to start another war here, we only just got out of the last one" Zuko admitted, looking at Aang in a way that signaled his judgment was the absolute best.

"Hmmm" Aang thought aloud. "Yeah, we definitely don't want to start another war, but to handle this situation…"

He became lost in his own thoughts for a few minutes and everyone waited patiently for his answer. "What if we sent Fire Nation spies to infiltrate the rebellion armies and find out what they're planning?" Aang suggested.

Zuko just looked dumbstruck, even Mai was a little surprised.

"That…is a good idea" Zuko confirmed, getting to the point of things.

"It certainly makes more sense than just attacking straight out" Katara added, liking Aang's idea.

"Well then, I guess that settles that" Zuko said. "I'll put my best men up to the task. After infiltrating the armies, they can send back daily reports of what's going on, where the rebels are going next, and what they're planning. Then, with that information, we should be able to tactfully squash out these rebellions once and for all."

"Sounds good" Aang replied.

"What should we do now?" asked Katara looking from Zuko to Aang.

"Maybe we ought to head out to all these places where the Fire Nation rebellions are taking place and try to stop them. Then, whenever Zuko gets a letter from the spies, he can send it to us so we know what they're planning" proposed Aang.

"Hey yeah; and then we'll be able to stop by Gaoling along the way and get Toph" Katara replied.

"Excellent then, so you guys can leave whenever you please" Zuko put in. "I'd love to join you, but unfortunately and obviously I can't leave the Fire Nation to run itself, especially now, so recently after the war ended. However, I would still be happy to send you any reports I receive from Fire Nation spies, but they probably won't be able to infiltrate the rebels for a several weeks, since the rebels are spread across the globe."

"If it's going to take several weeks, then I suppose all we can do is wait until we can find out what the rebels are plotting" Aang told Zuko. "Maybe Katara and I should go to Ember Island since it's right near here. From there, we can spy on them and find a way to stop them. What do you think Katara? You can stay here at the palace if you'd rather not travel again."

"Oh, no, I'm definitely going with you. I could possibly imagine leaving you to handle that on your own. Besides it'll be interesting visiting Ember Island again, especially after our last visit there" Katara said grinning.

Aang tried to hide his blush as he instantly knew what Katara was talking about. He remembered how she had told him there that she was confused about her feelings for him and then, of course, he had made the dumb move by kissing her there. But that was the past and this is now the present, and now, in the present, no longer was Katara confused. She had finally realized that she was meant to be with Aang, and Aang couldn't be happier. It was just like Roku had told him many, many weeks before, '_When love is real, it finds a way_'.

"Anyway," Zuko said, slightly uncomfortable after this little embarrassing moment for Aang and Katara, "I guess were done here. Lunch is probably going to be served soon and if you're leaving tomorrow I'll have my servants prepare supplies for your trip."

"That sounds good" Katara said, getting to her feet, Aang doing the same.

**Yeah, I chose to end the chapter here because the next stuff just won't fit in with this chapter (Aang and Katara go on their first official date and kataang fluff coming up!). I know the chapter is shorter than the last one, but they're not all going to be the same length. They're all gonna vary depending on whatever the main storyline of the chapter is. Anyway, turning onto other matters, I hope you like the chapter and I'd appreciate it if you left for reviews so I know what you think of the chapter. And remember; don't be afraid to right a review with constructive criticism, because I want to know what is bad about my story so that I may improve it to appeal to you people. And if you have any suggestions or requests of things you'd like to see happen in this story, please don't be afraid to ask. And I'd like to let JasmineDragon22 know that the next time I have a fight scene I'll be sure to make it a longer one, thanks for the review and I look forward to plenty more from both oyu and the rest of my viewers. I'll put up the next chapter as soon as I can and thanx again! ;) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Only one review last chapter? :( sadness...**

**CHAPTER 8: THE PERFECT DATE**

After lunch that day Katara went off to practice waterbending for a bit. She was very excited for the evening, because Aang had asked her out on a date with him. He seemed very embarrassed when he asked Katara and was unable to look at her, so he had kept looking down at his feet. Katara, of course, accepted his offer at once and then left to go practice waterbending, leaving Aang to try to debate on what he should do with Katara that evening. He really wanted to do something special for her, to really show that he was keeping the promise he had made to her earlier and, after all, they hadn't really been on an actually date yet and Aang was eager to have a first one to really make it official that he and Katara _are _dating. However, he couldn't help but feel nervous, because he wasn't quite sure what they should do and he desperately hoped to impress Katara, rather than make a fool of himself in front of her.

"This is hopeless" Aang said. "What was I thinking, asking her to go on a date with me when I haven't even planned one?"

Aang sighed. He was walking back to his room when he saw Zuko in the distance, apparently alone. Then, an idea struck Aang. Zuko, of course, already had a girlfriend and he's probably taken her on plenty of dates. Aang was sure that Zuko would be able to tell him anything he needed to know, especially what to do for a first date.

"Zuko!" Aang called across the hall. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course Aang" Zuko replied as he walked along the hall and stopped in front of Aang.

"Well, I kind of need some advice" Aang said a little embarrassed that he was asking Zuko for help with this. He was after all the avatar and this was he, the great and all powerful avatar, asking for advice on girls.

"About what?" asked Zuko.

"About girls" Aang confessed. "You see, I just asked Katara out for tonight, but I'm not sure what I should do with her. I mean, it's really our first actual date and I figured that you must've gone on plenty of dates with Mai, so you must know something about this stuff."

"Hmmm" Zuko thought aloud. "Yeah, we have been on dates before, but Mai and Katara are both very different. You should do something that you know she'll like; something that she'd love to do, with you. What does she enjoy doing?"

"Well, she likes to dance, but I kind of wanted to do something more private. You know, something where it's just the two of us" answered Aang.

"How about you take her on a picnic then? That way it's just the two of you. And better yet, there's this beautiful hill you should have it on. I was there with Mai once. It's completely private and it overlooks the whole Fire Nation Royal Palace. You'll be able to spot it easily from the air" recommended Zuko.

"Hey yeah! That is a good idea and I should bring traditional Water Tribe food, just like she likes. It'll be perfect!" exclaimed Aang with delight. "Thanks Zuko. I'm gonna do that."

"Happy I was able to help" he replied. "Oh and Aang, you should take these scrolls with you on your journey" added Zuko as he handed a handful of bundled up scrolls to Aang, who looked at them curiously before responding.

"What's in these" he asked.

"They're scrolls on firebending" said Zuko. "I won't be there to help you, but you'll be able to improve with them and the next time I see you, we can move on to more advanced forms."

"Alright, thanks" Aang said. "I better go now so I can get stuff for the picnic."

"Okay then. I guess I'll see you later and good luck tonight" he told Aang with assurance.

Zuko headed back down the hallway to wherever it was that he was going and Aang headed outside and into town so he could find everything he needed for his date tonight with Katara. He came back the Royal Palace within an hour or so and was glad Katara was still out waterbending, because this gave Aang time to prepare the meal, which included stewed sea prunes, arctic seal, and several other traditional Water Tribe dishes. It was only for Katara that Aang would touch and cook meat.

While the food was cooking, Aang went out to get Appa ready. He flew him up into the air to make sure that he knew where the hill was. He spotted it immediately and was pleased with the privacy it gave from the rest of the Fire Nation Royal Palace. He then headed back to the Palace to finish cooking.

When Katara finally did come back later in the afternoon Aang was almost done cooking and quickly left the Fire Nation kitchens temporarily and headed to his room to make it look as though he had been there the whole time.

Katara knocked on the door and Aang opened it for her.

"You know, you don't need to knock if you wanna come in. It's your room, too" Aang told her kindly as he got up, opened the door, and pecked Katara on the cheek.

"Well, what if you were changing?" Katara replied, smirking.

"Oh, uh good point" Aang said back, embarrassed. "So, anyway, I was wondering if, for our date tonight, you wanted to have a picnic. You know, just the two of us together.

"Yeah, I'd love that!" responded Katara enthusiastically. "I was just wondering if I could take a bath first and wash up."

"Oh yeah, take your time. I'll just be getting some things ready" he replied, knowing that he wasn't technically lying.

So, Katara headed into the bathroom and Aang returned to the kitchens to finish the food. He carefully wrapped everything up, and was just putting the container of five-flavored soup into his picnic basket when he felt the vibrations of Katara's feet getting closer to the kitchens. Quickly, Aang earthbended the ground beneath him and made a tunnel that led him right under Katara and back to his room. When Aang was safely back in his room he headed into the bathroom and quickly washed up. Then he pulled on his special monk robes, grabbed his picnic basket, and headed out of his room to find Katara standing a short way away down hall waiting for him.

"How did you get in there? I just looked in there for you" Katara asked curiously, smiling at Aang as she walked over to him.

"I've got my ways" he replied grinning.

As Katara got closer Aang was able to see how shockingly pretty she looked and was mesmerized by her beauty.

She wasn't wearing her glittery dress that she wore when they danced, but instead was wearing traditional Water Tribe clothing. Something about it was different, though. It seemed much nicer than general Water Tribe clothing and made Katara look far prettier than she usually was. Her hair was not down, but was tied up in an elegant knot for this special occasion. There was also another flower in her hair. In fact, it was the same type that she was wearing on the evening when she and Aang had kissed on the balcony.

Aang suddenly realized that he was staring at Katara and quickly turned his head away and scratched the back of his neck as he struggled to find words to describe how great Katara looked.

"You…you look fantastic" Aang told her, blushing as he summed up the courage to look at her beautiful face and hold out his arm to her.

"Thanks, you too" she replied, taking his arm gladly. "I love the basket you got" she added, allowing Aang to lead her down the hall and outside to where Appa was already waiting for them.

The basket that Aang was holding was a traditional handmade one. It was the traditional light brown color, but right under the handle was a bouquet of beautiful roses.

"That reminds me" Aang said, blushing as he took the bundle of roses form the basket and handed them to Katara. "I got these for you."

"Oh, they're beautiful Aang! Thank you so much" Katara said appreciatively as she gave Aang a kiss on the cheek. Aang blushed again.

"It was nothing" he said simply, still smiling, as he airbended him and Katara onto Appa, who took off at once, already knowing where Aang wanted him to go. "I just wanted to get something pretty for my pretty girl."

"And your pretty girl is very happy with her boyfriend and wants him to know how much she loves him" Katara said giggling.

Aang, catching on responded "Well, let your boyfriend tell you that he loves you with all his heart and always will. No matter what happens, he will never stop loving you."

And then they kissed. Their lips softly, yet firmly, moving over each other's in no set pattern. Aang removed his lips form Katara's and she was about to question his act when he started to kiss her cheeks. She savored the feeling of his gentle lips placing kisses on her cheek. His lips moved up and down her neck and Katara was enjoying it so much that she even allowed a small moan of pleasure to escape from her mouth. This pleased Aang, too, and he brought his lips back to her mouth again.

Aang and Katara were so immersed in their kiss that they hadn't realized that Appa had already landed. They both just continued to lie there on his saddle kissing passionately, eyes closed, and not wanting to leave each other's arms.

As there kiss became more passionate, Aang's body ended up being hovered over Katara's and Katara pulled Aang down, so that he was lying on top of her, both of their bodies pressed against each other. Katara even felt Aang's manhood from within his pants against her, as it pressed sharply against Aang's pants. On the other hand, Aang felt Katara's pants getting wetter as her womanhood moistened.

After several minutes, in which neither Aang or Katara could think about anything else other than their entwined figures still kissing very, very passionately, Appa let out a loud groan, which brought them both back to reality.

"Whoa, I guess we lost our sense there for a sec" Aang said blushing immensely as he got off of Katara and helped her up. "Sorry if I, you know, lost control there for a second, I was just so…" Aang stopped for a moment as he tried to think of the right word. "I was just so attracted to you" Aang finished, blushing guiltily as he turned his gaze away from Katara.

"Aang" Katara told him sympathetically as she reached out to turn him back towards her. "You did what was normal for a boyfriend to do and I enjoyed it; I really did. Please don't feel guilty. All you've done is helped me feel even more attracted to you and I want to share more of these romantic moments with you, my boyfriend, the one who I love and care about so much; not as a brother, but as my true love.

Aang, whose eyes were slightly watery with happiness smiled gratefully at Katara. She smiled back gratefully, too. "Are you hungry?" Aang asked her, returning to his normal happy mood.

She nodded.

"Let's eat then" Aang replied as he picked up the picnic basket and the picnic blanket and airbended himself off of Appa. He set down the picnic basket and blanket before jumping back onto Appa and saying "Oh, I almost forgot my manners."

He held out his hand to Katara, grinning and forcing himself not to blush. Katara, who was also grinning, took Aang's hand. He then placed both his hands around her waist and jumped off of Appa and landed softly on the ground with Katara, thanks to his airbending.

"Oh Aang, it's beautiful here and so romantic!" Katara said in amazement as she turned her head this way and that, unable to take in the entire view of the Fire Nation Royal Palace.

"I'm really happy you like it. I thought it would be nice to get away from everyone else for a bit, so we can just relax and not have to worry about anything" said Aang.

"You're so sweet, you know Aang" Katara said as she unfolded the blanket and set it down on the smooth grass. "You're the sweetest, cutest, nicest boy I've ever met."

"And you the prettiest, most caring, and most beautiful girl I've ever met" Aang responded sensually as he took a seat next to Katara, and they both leaned back against the large tree that they were under. He gave Katara a quick kiss on the cheek before reaching out for the picnic basket and pulling it towards them.

"Mmmm, that smells good…and familiar" Katara said, breathing in the smell of the familiar food she could not see.

"It should be familiar" Aang replied, grinning, as he opened the basket to reveal the Water Tribe food.

Katara put her hand over her mouth and gasped. "But Aang, how did you…"

"I made it" he bashfully replied.

"But you hate Water Tribe food" Katara said softly, looking at Aang in a concerned and even guilty way.

"But you don't" he responded smiling at her. "Here, I can warm this up for you." He took out the five-flavored soup and arctic seal and used his firebending to warm the food up in an instant.

And together they ate. Their meal was peaceful and filling; though Aang obviously only ate the soup as he hated sea prunes and didn't eat meat. By the time they had finished eating the sun had nearly set and they both sat there next to each other watching the sunset.

"Thank you Aang" Katara said softly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"For what?" he responded, perplexed.

"For making this one of the best evenings of my life" she replied.

"You don't have to thank me Katara. I was just as happy as you were to be able to spend this evening with you, and thank you for spending it with me. I love you Katara." Aang told her warmly as he put his arm around her and kissed her nose fondly.

"You can kiss my lips, you know" Katara said, giggling.

"I know, but you have a cute nose" Aang replied, blushing.

Katara blushed, too. "Is that the cutest part of me?"

"Nope" Aang said simply.

"Well then what is?" Katara asked in a delightful tone.

"Your gorgeous smile" replied Aang, teasing Katara again by giving her another kiss on the nose.

"Let's stay here for the rest of the night" suggested Katara, who yawned and sat up to face Aang.

"As you wish" he whispered back, moving closer to Katara and placing one of his hands softly onto her cheek. "I love you" he whispered.

"I love you too" Katara whispered back, her hands slowly wrapping themselves around Aang's waist.

They were both looking lovingly into each other's eyes before finally sharing that kiss that they had been waiting for. As they kissed, Aang stood up and lifted Katara off of her feet, before cradling her in his arms. He broke their kiss and, still holding her, leaned to one side and whispered to her "Baby, you're my forever girl." He said it just as he had in that day dream he had so long ago, except now it was not a dream, but pure reality.

"Hold me closer" Katara whispered pleadingly to Aang.

He did as she commanded and held her close to him. Their lips were only a centimeter apart. "Nobody will ever harm you again" Aang told her certainly, brushing a single strand of hair out of Katara's face.

Katara did not respond, but instead, she pressed her lips against his and opened her mouth widely, Aang doing the same. Katara took charge this time as her tongue explored Aang's mouth; meanwhile her hands were stroking his bald head. How she wished he had hair so that she could run her hands through it. "I love you so much Aan–" Katara managed to say as Aang kissed her again passionately before she was able to finish her sentence.

Aang's hands were exploring Katara's backside. It was becoming harder and harder for him to resist her, but he knew it wouldn't turn out well if Katara ended up pregnant so soon into their relationship. As he continued kissing her, he wondered whether or not he dared to make another move on her. His hands trembled as they slowly made their way lower and lower down Katara's backside. When his hands were just above her butt, he stopped kissing her and looked into her stunning face. She simply nodded with approval and Aang placed his hands over her butt cheeks and softly rubbed them.

Katara moaned in pleasure and wondered how far Aang would take her; not very far though, because he soon went back to kissing her. She loved feeling his warm lips against hers and didn't think she could ever stop kissing him.

A cool breeze blew and Katara and Aang suddenly stopped kissing and shivered.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back?" asked Aang. "It's going to get cold, after all."

"As long as I'm with you, I'll be fine" Katara said smiling.

"Let's get some sleep then" replied Aang as he went to retrieve a blanket from Appa's saddle.

Aang walked back over to Katara and carefully bended the earth so that a small mound was created that still had the grass covering it and acted as a pillow. Aang earthbended a rock tent for the two of them and entered it with Katara. He lied down on it and she did the same. As Aang covered them with the blanket and Katara, instead of resting her head on the pillow-like mound Aang had created, placed her head on Aang's chest and put one of her arms over his waist. Aang slid one arm around Katara's shoulders and put the other on her stomach, gently caressing it.

"Mmmmm" she said sleepily.

"Sleep well Katara, I love you" Aang said quietly and peacefully as he kissed her once more on the lips.

"Love you too" she replied with her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of comfort she got when she cuddled with Aang.

As Katara fell asleep in her boyfriend's arms, sleep began to overcome Aang too. Just before he lost consciousness, he thought once more about the fact that Katara, the girl who he had loved for so long, was finally all his. And he knew that nothing would ever change that.

**Lots of grammar errors for me to fix eventually. I hope you liked the chapter and the kataang fluff. Please, please, please review the chapter and let me know what you think. Your continued reviews are what give me the confidence I need to continue writing this story. Without them, I can't do it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for all the reviews I got! I really appreciate them, they mean a lot to me. Keep it up! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but I was in a "crunchy" situation for a while with my schoolwork, but I finally got through this chapter. I've got some more edits to make in this one too, but I'd rather get the chapter out now for you guys then take another day to edit it. So, without any further interruptions, I present to you all chapter 9.**

**CHAPTER 9: The Night At Ember Island**

As always, Aang was the first one to wake up that morning. He stayed still so that Katara could continue to stay asleep with her head resting on Aang's chest, but as the sun began to rise, she too started to wake up.

"Good morning" whispered Aang, placing a hand on Katara's cheek as she slowly opened her eyes.

"M-morning" she replied sleepily as she yawned and stretched out her arms.

"You're so peaceful when you sleep" complimented Aang as he and Katara got up to prepare to head back to the Royal Palace.

They planned on eating with Zuko and Mai before departing on their journey to help stop the rebellions taking place across the globe. They also planned on picking up Toph along the way.

"Were you watching me?" asked Katara, in a not-at-all-angry tone.

"I guess you could say I was" replied Aang, smiling embarrassingly. "I like to know that you're okay."

Katara blushed and at the same time felt comforted by Aang's answer. "So…where to now?" Katara asked conversationally, partially to break the embarrassing, yet sweet, moment between them.

"I think we should fly back to the palace and have breakfast with Zuko and Mai. Then, when we're done we can leave and start to slowly make our way to the South Pole, so that you can visit home, or even stay there if you want. I wouldn't ever make you travel the whole world with me."

"Aang, I'm happy to go wherever you go. I'd travel the world time and again if it meant I could be with you" responded Katara, giving one of Aang's hands an assuring squeeze with her own.

"In that case then, Ember Island is the closest place that were going find Fire Nation rebels" concluded Aang. "When we're done there we can head to Gaoling and meet up with Toph. After, we can continue traveling southward and stop along any other places along the way where groups of rebels are forming. We'll slowly bring peace and balance back to the world."

"That's a perfect idea" Katara replied happily as she smiled at Aang while running a comb through her hair in an attempt to untangle it.

"We should go now" suggested Aang.

"Right behind you" Katara replied moments later as she climbed onto Aapa.

He took off into the sky and was approaching the Royal Palace in a matter of seconds. Appa landed by his shelter as Aang and Katara got off and headed inside. They made their way through the twisting hallways and finally found the breakfast room. They were the first ones up, so they took their seats and helped themselves to the feast that was already set up on the table.

"It'll be nice to visit Ember Island again" Katara mentioned, striking up a conversation.

"Definitely" Aang replied as he reached out for a moon peach.

A few minutes into Aang and Katara's conversation, Zuko and Mai entered the kitchen and took the seats right across from Aang and Katara.

"So, today's the day?" asked Zuko.

"Yep" replied Aang. We'll leave after breakfast and head straight to Ember Island. It ought to only be a day's journey on Appa."

"That'll be good" Zuko said back, satisfied by Aang's answer. "I'll send you a messenger hawk when my men finally infiltrate the army. Then, I'll have them send you daily reports, so you know what they're up to. We'll slowly tear them apart from the inside out."

"Right…" Aang replied, not really listening anymore.

Breakfast ended not too long after, and Aang and Katara prepared their supplies for their trip to Ember Island. They said their goodbyes to Zuko and Mai and then they were off.

The trip on Appa was long and boring, but as nightfall approached, Appa finally landed on Ember Island, just outside the old house that Zuko's family had stayed at every summer long, long ago.

"We made it, at last" Katara breathed out in relief.

"Nice flying boy" Aang told Appa, patting him lightly.

He groaned back as if to mutter thanks and trudged up towards the house at a slow pace. Aang and Katara followed his suit.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Over the course of the next few days, Aang and Katara spent the majority of their time undercover and studying Fire Nation rebels whenever the opportunity came. They'd follow them home, listen in on their conversations, and even approach one casually from time to time.

Katara and Aang both Aang both agreed that he shouldn't reveal himself to the people on Ember Island, because that would put all of the rebels on guard. Unfortunately, this plan failed on only their second day at Ember Island…with very, very bad results indeed…

It was nighttime now. Most people had already gone back to their homes, but some still remained out, perhaps off to see a play. Katara was back at the house and Aang was on his way back after a long day spent studying one particular firebender who he believed might be leading the Ember Island Fire Nation rebellion. He was actually running quite late and hoped that Katara wouldn't worry as she always did when something unusual was happening. Just as Aang began walking through a long dark alleyway a girl called out to him.

"Hey! Are you the avatar?" the girl called out loudly to Aang in the distance.

Aang's hood had fallen down for a moment, but before he managed to get it back up all the way he was spotted by the girl.

"What? No…of course not. Don't be ridiculous" Aang replied quickly in an unconvincing tone as he attempted to continue along the private path he was on.

The girl grabbed his arm to hold him back. "WAIT! You are the avatar! I know because I saw your arrow" she replied desperately.

She had a high-pitched sort of voice and was more or less Aang's age and height. Her eye color was brown and she had long, braided, jet-black hair.

"Look, I really need to get going, so–"

"But wait!" she cried out again as Aang attempted again to walk away.

"What?" he replied, a little agitated that this girl was keeping him from getting back to the house where he knew Katara was waiting for him, probably worried.

"I wanted to ask you something" she said quietly and mysteriously.

"Well what?" Aang replied, not even bothering to keep the agitation out of his voice.

"Why bother with her?" she said angrily and unexpectedly.

"What?" Aang said, completely confused.

She laughed haughtily, "You heard me avatar. I said: why do you even bother with her?"

"With who–" But Aang stopped talking and thought he knew what the girl was talking about.

The mysterious girl smirked as she spoke. "She's absolutely nothing compared to you; completely worthless!"

"How dare you say such things about her!" Aang shot back as he pulled his arm out of her grip.

"Be with me instead! I have royalty unlike her! I am much more worthy than some filthy–"

"Don't!" Aang yelled.

"Little –"

"Stop!" roared Aang.

"Water Tribe–"

"I'm warning you!" Aang shouted.

"Peasant!" she finished, uttering the last word as loud as she could.

"THAT DOES IT!" Aang screamed as he began moving his arms to bend at this girl.

Many things happened all at once, but Aang would unfortunately never forget it.

As Aang attempted to earthbend at the strange girl she grabbed his arm, pressed him against the wall, and kissed him full on the mouth. What's worse is that Katara suddenly walked around the corner and caught them there. Her eyes quickly darted to their figres and were open wide with shock; betrayal was written all over her face. Aang saw her, too, and he immediately pushed the girl off of him, but the damage had already been done.

"Katara!" Aang started to say, but didn't get to finish because the girl interrupted him.

"Sorry Kataya, or whatever your name is, but the avatar and I are in love!" she yelled out happily as she attempted to put her arms around Aang. "Now back off you filthy–"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Aang roared, stomping the ground with his feet and knocking down the girl.

"No…sh-she's r-right" Katara stammered, her eyes filling with tears.

"Katara I–" Aang began, feeling completely to blame.

"Just forget it!" Katara cried out as the tears streamed down her face as she ran back down the path as fast as she could.

"Ha! Serves her right to try and mess–" the girl began.

"Look what you've just done!" Aang screamed with rage building up inside of him. He literally felt ready to explode.

Air flew out of Aang's hands as the girl was blown away from him and slammed into a tree. Aang then bended earth around her, keeping her completely attached to the tree.

"Hey! Let me go!" she cried out.

"I'll deal with you later" Aang growled angrily. And without wasting another second Aang ran down the path Katara took at light speed.

The path that Aang took led him down to the beach. It was a secluded section that was surrounded by rocky cliffs on all but one side. And right by the water's edge was Katara on her knees crying.

"Katara" Aang said softly as he carefully approached her and knelt down beside her.

"How could you Aang?" she said, tears still running down her face as she refused to look at him, but instead kept her head down and faced the water.

"It's not what you think. I swear! She just literally popped out of nowhere and kissed me. I'm sorry Katara."

"How could you even let that happen, though? I thought I was special. I guess not" she cried, both tearfully and angrily, as her hands came down sharply and sent a large wave of water into the air.

The water rained down onto Aang, but he didn't even both to remove it. He placed one of his hands tenderly onto Katara's shoulders, but she shook it off at once.

"Don't ever think that Katara! You are special. You're the most special person in the world to me!" pleaded Aang.

"You have a funny way of showing it" she snapped back, her sadness turning into rage. "How do you think that made me feel? First, you're all like I love you this and I love you that and the next thing I know, you're locked in lips with some other random girl!"

Aang felt absolutely dreadful about what Katara said. "Katara, d-do you really not think that I l-love you?" asked Aang, worried and shocked.

She didn't reply, but simply kept her head down as another wave of tears started to drip from her eyes.

"Katara…I promise you that I love you…so much that–that I'd do anything for you. I'd face the deadliest of the world's creatures, travel through the worst storms the universe can throw at me, and go to any lengths imaginable just to find you and care for you, because even after everything that has happened and no matter what else happens, I have always and will always love you. With your caring personality, your beautiful smile, and your incredible loving and kind nature, what boy wouldn't want you?"

Still, Katara didn't answer and didn't even move, as though she was waiting for Aang to continue. He wasn't sure what the expression was on her face and was afraid of what she might say or do. So, he spoke again.

"I know you're still angry at me for what happened tonight. And I know you probably want me out of your life now, after what happened. And if that's really what you want then I'll do so, just to make you happy. It was my fault for what happened tonight. I should have realized what was on that crazy girl's mind so that I could've stopped her from kissing me. But I want you to know that I would never _ever_ think of doing anything like that with anyone but you Katara. Because you're the one who keeps me going every day I live. Just seeing your beautiful smile and your caring nature makes me happier than I can say. And tonight, because of my careless actions I'm about to lose the one thing that's most important to me."

This time it was Aang who was crying and he who had his hands over his face trying to stop his own tears. Then, to Aang's utter surprise and disbelief, Katara turned around from the position she was in and pulled Aang into a strangling hug as tears poured both their faces.

The hug caused Aang to be lying on the sand with Katara on top of him hugging him tightly.

"How can you forgive me so easily?" Aang asked in disbelief, tears still pouring from his eyes. "I thought you'd be furious with me!"

"I couldn't stay angry at you. Not after everything you've done for me. After all, you care about me, right?" she responded.

Her eyes still looked at Aang with tears in them. They also still contained worry and fear.

Aang looked back at her with watery eyes and a grateful expression on his face. "Of course I care about you. I care about you so much. I care about you more than anything else in the whole entire world. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you. I love you so much Katara."

"How can I be sure?" she asked, still worried.

Aang looked at Katara blushing with one of those drooling expressions on his face that showed how pretty he thought Katara was. While keeping this expression, Aang slowly leaned in closer to her.

"This is how you can be sure" he whispered finally, smiling.

Aang let his lips meet Katara's as he kissed her in the most romantic and loving way he could. In fact, he didn't even bother to open his mouth, but simply kept his lips pressed lightly on hers, enjoying this simple feeling and remember that this was exactly like he had kissed her on Ember Island last time. The only difference was that she wasn't pulling away from him this time.

"Aang, that was the most romantic kiss you've ever given me" Katara said gratefully, when he finally pulled away from her.

"I wanted you to know that I love you, but now I need to ask you something" replied Aang. "Katara, do you love me?"

"Yes" she murmured with tears of happiness.

"I'm glad" Aang told her simply. "Let's get back to the house."

Aang airbended himself off of the ground and then held out his hand to Katara who was still on the ground. She appreciatively took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"Are you going to be alright?" Aang asked her anxiously, holding one of her hands in his and putting his other hand gently on her cheek.

"I'll be fine" she mumbled back, giving a weak sort of smile.

"Good" Aang replied, smiling at her.

So, hand in hand, they made their way back up to the house. Appa and Momo were already asleep by the time they made it back. Katara stretched as she took a seat on the couch in one of the rooms.

"Care to join me?" Katara asked Aang brightly.

"Sure, in a second. I'm just going to go make us some tea" he replied as he leaned down and gave Katara a peck on the cheek.

Only a few minutes after Aang had entered the kitchen he returned carrying a tray holding two cups and a pot of tea. There were also some sugar cubes in another small bowl on the tray.

Aang set down the tray on the table right by the couch and handed Katara a cup of tea.

"Thank you" she replied as she took a sip of the tea.

"I thought we could use some tea after this whole incident" Aang mentioned while sitting down right next to Katara, who instantly allowed her head to rest on his shoulder just the way she liked it. "After all, just like Iroh said, the best remedy for calming the mind is none other than tea."

Katara let out a small chuckle, "Iroh did always give the best advice."

"And great tea" added Aang as he closed his eyes for only a moment and felt the calm draft of the air that was flowing into the house through the nearby open window.

"Hmmm, well yours isn't all that bad" reasoned Katara playfully.

"I suppose not" Aang responded, "but I guess that when you're a master of the four elements, you don't really get to have good tea-making skills."

"I guess not" Katara responded cheerfully.

Their conversation went on for several more minutes until Aang and Katara were both greatly exhausted.

"Come on, we should get some rest" recommended Aang with his eyes only halfway open and his eyelids drooping.

Katara was already one step ahead of him and was nearly asleep in his arms.

Katara was so tired that all she was able to say was "mmmm" as Aang helped her to her feet.

She was a little unsteady, so Aang put her arms around his neck so she had some support while walking. When they got to their room they literally fell onto their bed as sleep once again begun to take over Aang and Katara.

"Goodnight Katara" Aang told her softly as he gave her a kiss on the nose and then on her lips.

She smiled while keeping her eyes closed and whispered for Aang to hold her. He did exactly as she said and wrapped his arms around her. At last she was able to rest peacefully, even after what had gone on today, because she knew she still loved Aang and that he still loved her. The proof had its arms around her as she thought these very thoughts.

**Hmmmm…I think this is actually the third chapter that I've chosen to end with Aang and Katara falling asleep together, not that that means much I suppose. Anyway, so not a major amount of kataang fluff this chapter (it was all in the last chapter), but it was mostly like one of those comforting chapters. We might see Toph return in the next chapter or maybe the one after that, but the whole gaang is gonna slowly make its way back together again, so hooray...I guess, lol. Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you guys would let me know how this chapter came out and what you think of it. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up within a week. Cyah soon! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Wow…finally…my god…I know, I know…it's about time! Well…I guess the lesson to be learned here is to never trust me when I say the chapter will be up within in a week. Do I have anything to say about myself? An explanation? Any excuse at all for me taking all this time to update? All I can say is that things are easier "thought" than done. Technically, I had the basic idea of this chapter in my head the whole time, but it was a little tougher when I came to the part where I write it down. Perhaps I was stressed? (school and finals, still to come) Could I have been preoccupied with other things? (Christmas shopping, visiting cousins, holiday planning, ect.) Maybe I was tired and just plain lazy? (lack of sleep for many nights) Or, more likely, all of the above. However, I'm back, and as I told a certain someone (they know who they are if they are possibly reading this, lol, I don't know if they actually are) I would probably be updating on Christmas Day, which I am! So…uh…Yippee! Anyway, to those who were disappointed by or otherwise impatient about the long wait for this chapter, I'm sorry; to those who understand that I can't get out chapters as quickly as I'd like to, thank you for being patient and sticking to my story through the good and the bad; and finally, to those who just want the story to start already, I say, let the games–uhh whoops, I mean, let the chapter begin…**

…**Oh and don't forget to review! (it's really, really appreciated) :)**

**CHAPTER 10: THE SURPRISE IN GAOLING**

While hoping to have rid Ember Island of the rebels, Aang and Katara were having a tough time doing so. For starters, everyone on Ember Island now knew that the avatar was in town thanks to the loud mouth of that crazy girl who kissed Aang. So, because of this and the fact that Zuko's men hadn't yet infiltrated the army, Aang and Katara decided that it was best to move on, away from Ember Island. When the time was better they would return, but for now they left on Appa.

It took Aang and Katara four days to reach the Beifongs' residence on Appa. They dismounted and made their way up to the gate. A guard approached them.

"Who goes there?" he asked sternly.

"The avatar and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe" Aang replied in the same serious manner. "We're here to see Toph. We're friends of hers."

"Very well, please wait here" the guard chose to say back as he shuffled his way through the gate and ran way up to the mansion. He entered it and did not return for several minutes. Just as Aang and Katara were starting to lose patience, the man finally returned. Toph wasn't with him, but someone else was. Aang and Katara both knew who he was. This was Toph's father.

"Hello, Mr. Beifong" Aang said, giving him a slight bow, Katara doing the same.

He only gave a small "hmph". It seemed that he was apparently still angry at Aang for "kidnapping" his daughter and was a little hesitant to respond to him.

"Do you think it would be alright if we see Toph" Katara asked as she looked pleadingly into his eyes.

Aang wasn't looking so pleading. In fact, he was starting to look quite irritated. Toph was one of his best friends, the one who taught him earthbending and this man, her father, wasn't going to stop him and Katara from seeing her.

"Look Mr. Beifong. I didn't kidnap your daughter. She ran away from home to teach me earthbending because you have been too controlling over her life, she's probably told you all of this already, so Katara and I are going to see her whether you like it or not" Aang demanded.

"No…I'm afraid you won't be able to see her avatar" he said strictly and calmly.

"Look, if you think your gonna–" Katara started.

"You won't be able to see her because she isn't here. She ran off again and every single one of my guards has been unable to locate her" he said back angrily.

"Ha, of course you guards can't find her" Aang laughed. "She probably can feel them all coming a mile away, but she'll recognize mine and Katara's footsteps…and don't worry after we find her and fly off, we'll send a hawk your way so you know she's okay, but she can take care of herself and you two have no right to treat her like she's five!"

"How–how dare you even suggest such things? My daughter is young and fragile and you shall not be taking her from us again avatar…no you won't!" he grumbled with a threatening tone as he took a step closer and raised his arm, pointing at Aang with one finger.

"How dare _you_ threaten Aang?" shot back Katara angrily. "All he's done is saved people's lives and the world! It's thanks to him that the one hundred year war is finally over, so don't you start talking like you can do what you want."

"It's okay Katara" said Aang, as he put an arm on her shoulder to stop her from getting closer to Mr. Beifong. "We'll just go, come on."

And so they left. Aang half thought that Mr. Beifong would try and stop them, but he knew better then to pick a fight with the avatar.

When Aang and Katara were back on Appa, Katara asked Aang "Where do you think she went?"

"I'm not sure, she might've stayed in Gaoling or else went to Ba Sing Se, after all, Iroh's there" replied Aang while taking Appa slightly lower and scanning the city of Gaoling for Toph. But he was being stupid, for he knew Toph would be wandering in the city in public.

"Hmmm, Ba Sing Se, is quite a distance from here" mumbled Katara as she contemplated the matter. "We did tell her we'd be back in a few weeks, so she might've thought it'd be smarter to wait here for us to return."

"That's an idea" responded Aang giving up his effort to search the grounds and allowing Appa to continue circling the city while he climbed back into the saddle with Katara. "The only question is where she is in the city."

"What if she went back to Earth Rumble Six?" asked Katara.

"Yeah, that might make sense, then she could pay for a ride to Ba Sing Se" Aang agreed before suddenly slapping himself across the face as he and Katara both laughed. After all, Toph's family was rich, so Toph could have just easily taken money from her parents.

Aang and Katara became lost in the moment of laughter and just stared at one another.

"You know, I'm really glad you chose to stick with me Katara. You don't know how happy you've made me" admitted Aang, blushing.

"And I'm really glad you let me come with you and you have no idea how happy you've made me by letting me come with you" replied Katara, also blushing. She covered Aang's hand with hers and they both looked at each other sensually.

"You're so beautiful" murmured Aang as he leaned towards her.

But Katara didn't lean in. Instead she screamed. "Aang, behind you!"

Aang quickly spun around, and just in the nick of time. A large fireball was only seconds away from hitting them.

"Come on Appa!" Aang yelled as he pulled at the reins of his bison.

Appa managed to swerve out of the way just in time, but no sooner had the first fireball missed them, then a second one came hurtling towards them. But Aang was ready for this one. Instead of having Appa fly out of the way Aang jumped off of Appa and kicked his foot as air blew out of it and split the flaming rock in two. Aang fell back onto Appa and quickly turned to Katara.

"We need to see where they're coming from" he quickly said.

"There!" Katara shouted pointing towards a bald spot in the forest where there was a group of Fire Nation catapults.

"It's the fire Nation rebels!" Aang yelled. "Steer Appa, Katara, I'm going in!"

"Okay, be careful Aang" Katara replied.

Aang smiled at her before jumping off of Appa with his glider.

Three fireballs came hurtling towards Aang as he flew. He turned his glider swiftly and quickly all around him, turning it back into a staff and creating a circular air swipe that sliced all three rocks in half. Aang then opened his again and soared downward towards the trees. The firebender saw him coming and some of them yelled and scattered while others stayed and shot more flaming fireballs at him.

"Huuuyyyahhh!" yelled Aang as he avoided the fire blasts and landed on the ground. As he landed, a large circular ring of Earth erupted around him and expanded around the entire area. It sent all of the catapults cascading into the air. They fell down with many loud crashes and thuds, breaking apart at the same time.

"It's the avatar! Men, show no mercy!" one of the rebels yelled.

An army of firebenders surrounded Aang, all of them prepared to unleash all of their power.

"Please listen to me!" Aang called out to all of them. "We don't have to do this. We don't have to fight!. You have the power to end it here and stop what you're doing." Aang said it just as he had on the day of Sozin's Comet.

Despite Aang's words, all of the firebenders just laughed and took aim at the avatar.

"Have it your way" Aang mumbled to them all darkly. "I did warn you though."

"Enough of this already! Men, fire at will! NOW!" the head Fire Nation rebel yelled.

They did as he commanded, ferocious flames of fire shooting from their fingertips. Aang smirked as he took his earthbending stance. The flames engulfed the spot where Aang had been standing. Fiery sparks shot up and thick black smoke rouse up into the air. When the flames, at last, went out all the rebels stared with confusion.

"What the–" began one of the rebels, perplexed.

"Hyahh!" Aang burst out from the ground right behind the rebel and blasted him with air. He slammed into a tree, but burned it to a crisp and shouted out "Get him!"

Another group of rebels ran towards Aang from all sides. Aang spun around quickly on the spot, creating a large cyclone of air. It threw back the rebels, but they weren't giving up so easily. They charged again as Aang created a ring of fire around him to block the flames from the rebels.

"Ha! You're gonna have to do better than that avatar!" the head fire nation rebel laughed.

"Oh. This isn't good enough for you?" shot Katara.

"What?" the rebel said, turning around.

Appa landed in front of him and turned around then smacked down his flat tail, which created a powerful gust of wind.

"Aaahhhrrrg!" he yelled as he smacked into a tree for the second time.

"Katara! Look out!" Aang called out to her as he made an earth wall to block another rebel's fire blast and kicked his foot at the ground to make the land beneath the rebel suddenly shoot upwards sharply.

Katara turned around in time to see three rebels shoot flames towards her. She dodged them and used the water from her pouch to create a water whip that knocked down the three men. Even so, another large group came towards her. Thinking fast, Katara pulled up the water from the singed grass and used the water to make the octopus form, but there were too many firebenders.

"Aang! There's too many!" Katara yelled, doing her best to block the flames from the rebels.

"Hang on!" he yelled back from the other side of the battlefield.

Aang jumped high into the air. When he came back down, a deep crater was made in the earth, but it turned into a large earth mound that Aang was riding. All of the rebels retreated back in fear as Aang made his way towards Katara. He used airbending to fling them all away from her. Many more rebels quickly surrounded the two of them, however.

"Okay guys. I'm warning you all one last time. Stop your fighting now! There is no more war. Drop your firebending stances now or I will have no choice, but to force you all to!" Aang yelled at the top of his lungs.

"We'll never surrender!" one rebel blurted out, many others calling out similar things.

Aang took in a deep breath and closed his eyes momentarily. He opened them and all of the rebles watched in shock as they glowed brightly for just a moment, along with the arrows on his body. In that moment of glowing, Aang summoned the power of all his past lives and violently used a combination of all four elements to defeat the rebels. A growing ring of controlled fire blocked the fires shot by the rebels and three other things happened at exactly the same moment. A ring of air blasted all of the rebels, a ring of earth rouse form the ground and pushed back all of the rebels even more, and finally, a ring of water pulled out of thin air freezed all of the rebels in place.

Aang lookeed at the beaten up rebels with sadness that he needed to resort to this kind of violence to defeat them. So, he hastily waved his hand and melted the water.

"Aang, they're escaping. What should we do?" Katara asked, attempting to get into a waterbendng stance again as she watched all of the rebels flee.

Aang sighed as he got off of his earth mound. "Just let them go. Hopefully we'll have put them on the running side for now. They'll think twice before attacking again."

"Got that right!" Out of nowhere, the head rebel came straight for Aang, his hands filled with flames.

Before Aang or Katara could do anything, a large rock smacked right into the rebel and knocked him out cold.

"I thought you could use a hand" Toph said, kicking her foot at the ground again and causing the rebel to be knocked aside.

"Toph!" Katara said in joy, running over to hug her friend. "What happened? We went to your parents and–"

"Don't mention those fools in front of me" she said angrily, pushing away from Katara. "I-I thought they might've changed, or at least come to their senses, but they were the same as before, just…" She turned away, for her eyes were starting to get a little watery.

"Come on Toph, we'll go back with you and explain everything to them" Katara said hopefully, trying to cheer her up.

"No! I'm never going back there again, for as long as a live!" she shot back.

"Just give them more time; I'm sure they'll come to their senses soon" Aang put in.

"Whatever" Toph replied, a little annoyed, as she blew her bangs out of her eyes. "What are we gonna do with him" she added, giving a stiff nod in the direction of the rebel and also trying to change the subject.

"That's the leader of this group of rebels" replied Aang, looking down at him. "I say we take him with us and maybe we can find out from him what the others are planning to do."

"So where are we going to go?" asked Katara.

"Your home, the Southern Water Tribe. I don't want to keep you from your family any longer" Aang said.

"Aang, you're my family too, you know" she told him.

"I know, but it isn't any trouble anyway. The stupid council doesn't need me for more meetings yet and Zuko's men are taking care of the rebels. Besides, I'd love to see your home again; it's been way too long." Aang then added with a short chuckle, "Maybe I'll go penguin sledding again."

"Um…what about me?" Toph put in, partially to remind them that she was still there.

"What do you mean? Aren't you coming with us?" responded Katara with some surpise.

"Well, yeah, I'd still like to travel with you guys and all, but this is the South Pole were talking about." Toph explained.

Aang and Katara gave Toph a quizzical look. Although Toph was unable to see their confused expressions, she was able to tell that they were thinking that by the change in their heartbeat.

"You know…" began Toph, trying to get them to understand. "The South Pole, ice, no land! Is anything going through your skulls?" Toph asked in humorous disbelief.

"Oh, right" they both responded, catching Toph's point at once and laughing lightly.

"Please Toph. Won't you please come along…for me?" Katara pleaded. "I'd love for you to see my–visit my home."

Toph did not reply right away and Katara stood there hoping. Toph then sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll come along."

"Oh thank you Toph! You'll absolutely love the South Pole and there are so many people I'll be able to introduce you to" Katara joyfully replied.

"But only for a little bit! And someone will need to help me get around!" Toph stated very firmly and quickly, making sure Katara understood the conditions on which Toph would be going.

"It's a deal!" Katara said back happily.

"Hmmm, the South Pole. If we're lucky, we might be able to get there in a couple of weeks on Appa, but with that guy (Aang motioned towards the unconscious rebel), we could be delayed."

"Then let's drop Mr. Sparky here off at the Gaoling authorities. They'll take care of him for us" suggested Toph.

Aang thought about the idea for a moment, but it was Katara who chose to respond.

"But what if it's something important that he knows. Like what if a whole bunch of them are planning on grouping together to attack the Earth Kingdom, or worse, Zuko."

"They can just send us a messenger hawk. You've got to learn to just relax Katara. I mean come on, the war is over and we're all world heroes!" Toph insisted, making herself a large earth mound to sit on.

"That's my point exactly!" Katara sputtered. "If we're world heroes then that makes this whole rebellion mess our responsibility to fix!"

Katara and Toph went back and forth like this for several minutes until Aang finally ended the little argument.

"Alright, that's enough already! Here's what we'll do; we'll wake up the rebel and see if we can get any important information out of him. If we can, then we'll make it our duty to stop their plan. If it isn't a big deal then we can drop him off at the authorities and be on our way."

Katara opened her mouth to reply, but Aang also added on "And they can send us a hawk if they _do_ find out something that they need our help with."

Toph and Katara both nodded in approval.

"We better wake him up" said Katara as she reached down to tap the guy.

"I'll handle this" replied Toph, stepping in front of Katara and cracking her knuckles.

A small grin appeared on Toph's face as she kicked the ground with her foot and caused a large slab of rock to shoot forth from the ground and smack the rebel awake.

"Huh? Wazzgoinon?" he grunted as he rubbed his eyes and turned his head this way and that.

"We've got a few questions to ask you" Toph said angrily as she opened the ground with earthbending and trapped the rebel below the ground, except for his head which was sticking out. "Oh, and make sure you tell us the truth" Toph added.

"Why did you attack us?" Katara asked the rebel.

"What do you think? It's our job to serve the Phoenix King, and that means down with the avatar!" he grumbled while chuckling evilly.

"But Ozai was defeated weeks ago. Why do you still want to serve him? The war is over and an era of love and peace is beginning. Why would you possibly wish to start another war?" Katara asked in disbelief.

"Because you stupid girl–" said the rebel.

"Watch your mouth–" put in Aang.

"The Phoenix King has not fallen! As long as those who were loyal to him remain loyal to him this world will end in flames! Long live the Phoenix King!" roared the rebel.

"Look! I'm telling you that the war is over! Okay? There isn't going to be any fighting anymore. It's time we set aside old differences and rebuilt this world!" Katara stated clearly as she bent down to look the guy in the eye, still trying to convince the rebel that war was not the answer.

"Ha! You think this war is really over? The war is far from over! Soon you will all be sorry, very sorry indeed." He spat in her face.

Aang had had enough. "I told you to watch yourself!" he yelled. "Now you're going to pay!"

Aang reached down to grab the man, but Toph stopped him. "Just take her and leave him with me for a moment. I can handle this, trust me" Toph told Aang.

"Fine" muttered Aang as he reached down to take Katara's hand.

He pulled her a short distance from Toph and the rebel, just as Toph built an earth wall around her and the rebel in order to contain the rebel's soon-to-come screams. Aang pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Katara who used it to wipe the spit from her face.

"I'm really sorry about that" Aang told Katara softly. "I don't like it when people do that kind of stuff to you. Anyone who messes with you is messing with me."

"You're so sweet Aang. You know that, right?" Katara asked him gratefully, giving him a soft kiss, which he gladly accepted.

He could only smile appreciatively at her while blushing embarrassingly.

"Um…guys?" Toph asked weakly as she stuck her head outside of the earth tent. "Do you think you could maybe wrap it up a bit? I've got news for you and it isn't good. We need to get to the Fire Nation right away!"

"Why? What happened" Aang asked seriously.

"The rebels kidnapped Mai! But that's not even the worst of it; they're going to kill her unless you and Zuko surrender yourselves to them!"

**Well, um I guess I'll just say this since I always do: I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I would appreciate it if you left a comment and told me what you thought of it. And don't be afraid to leave constructive criticism (or even rude criticism if it's really that bad of a story, cuz I'll understand if it is) or personal ideas of your own about things you might want to see happen in this story. I actually got the idea of having Mai get kidnapped from a different fan fiction story that I read. It's called Redemption and was created by MattyJ. It's amazing (and so are his other stories) so please read it. I'm not sure when I'm going to update next and I shouldn't take a guess now cuz it is likely to be wrong, but I "think" it will be sooner than this one. Also, to the fans of kataang fluff out tere, you don't have to worry. My kataang fluff isn't going anywhere. I'll probably have a bit in the next chapter, but the one after the next one should have a lot more. One more thing: I hope I don't have too many grammatical mistakes in this chapter. I'm much too tired right now to fix them and you can sure bet that I won't be fixing them on Christmas day, let alone the fact that it's past 4:00 A.M. and I haven't slept. Wow, no wonder I'm currently suffering from sleep deprivation, or lack of sleep, or whatever you want to call it. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I need to get some much needed rest for Christmas Day. I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, or just Happy Holidays (lol, I know not everyone celebrates Christmas, in fact, I'm actually Jewish/Athiest). Take care, my fans. :)**


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